


Awakening

by JustKidd



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Action/Adventure, Other, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 12:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16326455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustKidd/pseuds/JustKidd
Summary: Cross posted from FFN. Completed 2016/01/29."Who are you?" Who am I? I'm you. Or rather, you're me. Heh. You're going to be me. I've been wondering, searching, waiting for you. Tell me, what is your deepest desire? Wealth? No, of course not. Love, perhaps? Power. Power to fight. Power to protect. Join me, and I will grant you power, greater than you'll ever imagine. All that I ask in return, is your past.





	1. Win the Battle Lose the War

The day had just beginning to show its end. Robin was just sitting in his favorite spot in Ylisstol Castle, staring at the reddish tint in the sky, not muttering any single word. Of all the places they had gone since he joined the Sheperds, he always prefers the small stairs fronting the center garden more than the extravagant hall in Ylisse, the bustling arena in Ferox, the calmness of the plains in Valm, even the quietness of his own room. He loves the view of the center garden from the first day he laid eyes upon it. He loves how the flowers in the garden, the castle wall, and the sky almost make an even split in his eyes, how the small pond in the middle of the garden would reflect the full moon, making it looks like there are two moons looking back at him on a clear night, and how he could hear the occasional chattering of the maidservants while doing their works.

For the first time in hours, Robin broke his gaze from the view to glance at the mark on his right hand before a tingling sensation on his left arm made him shift his sight to his left. He saw his left hand, bandaged from the elbow to his palm. He could almost smell the minty flavor of the vulnerary used on his arm. Robin rubbed his left arm gently, as if trying to calm a crying child.

"I guess you'll be out for a while, huh?" He asked jokingly, remembering the event of his injuries.

* * *

The night was black. It was the new moon, and thick clouds blocking any light reaching the ground. The night was quiet except for the sounds of clashing steels and exploding magic. The Sheperds were in a place called the Dragon's Table facing off against Plegian new king, Validar. Mere months after returning from the campaign in Valm, the Sheperds were once again found themselves knee-deep in a war. Only this time, the fate of the world was at stake. As the head of Plegia's Grimleal faction, Validar aimed to resurrect the Fell Dragon Grima. The same Grima the Hero King supposedly sealed more than 1000 years ago. After a few skirmishes, utilizing a controlled Robin, Validar managed to get his hands on the Fire Emblem. The Sheperds had gone after Validar at the Dragon's Table to take back the Ylissean treasure. They had Validar cornered in what looks to be the throne room.

"You arrogant fool!" Validar barked.

"You would dare betray me, your own father for these…. mere mortals?"

"Yeah, well, turns out blood  _not_  thicker than water huh,  _dad_." Robin said mockingly, slight grin on his face.

"And besides, my father died more than 15 years ago….trying to save me. He failed, but it's nice to know that someone cared." He said, slight sadness in his tone.

"Since we're doing this, then as your son, I'm reclaiming the throne of Plegia for myself." Robin shouted, pointing his steel sword at his father, knuckles white from gripping the hilt.

"So be it. There's more than one way to tame a lion." Validar spouted, all the while raising his right palm towards the Sheperds.

"Sheperds, brace your selves!" Chrom ordered, standing beside his best friend, Falchion tightly in his hand.

Hearing their leader's words, the Sheperds swiftly formed a defensive formation just in time for them to be engulfed in a dim, eerie light. After the light faded, they realized they were surrounded by a group of undead soldiers,  _Risens_ , as they called them, with Chrom and Robin separated from them by a purplish magic wall.

"No! What did you do?" He shouted at Validar, alternating his gaze from the man sitting on the throne to Sumia and Lissa, two of his most precious beings in the other side of the room.

"Calm down, Chrom." Robin spoke lightly.

"Frederick and Cordelia's there as well. Between the two of them, I'm sure they'll come up with something." He added, glancing towards Chrom's and his second in command.

After sharing a few glances, Robin saw Cordelia shouted something to their comrades, and the Sheperds once again changed their formation. Without their leader and chief tactician to the firepower, Cordelia opted for a more defensive tactic, ensuring her comrades' safety first, rather than an all out assault on the undead soldiers. Robin chuckled slightly at how he rubbed on her from their sleepless nights together devising plans and strategies for their campaigns before moving his eyes back to his sworn brother.

"To be completely honest with you, I'm more worried about us rather than them." He said nonchalantly.

Realizing they too were surrounded by the risens, Chrom gave his surrounding a look, noticing the presence of more tome-wielders than he's comfortable with.

"What're you talking about? We've been in far worse than this." Chrom joked, now realizing a few axe and sword –wielders are starting to appear as well.

Robin noticed the glowing blade of the Falchion, with its wielder also emitting a light blue, almost dusty aura.  _Aether_. Robin thought to himself. He gave a slight grin to his friend, before his hazel eyes turned a deep, dark red, he himself coated by a reddish tint of light.

Before long, one of the axe-wielders leaped towards them, clenching his silver axe in both hands, ready to pummel. Chrom parried the attack before giving him a hard kick in the gut. The berserker fell down with a loud thud. Chrom swiftly planted Falchion into his throat. He gagged a few times before finally stopped moving altogether, dead. The risen disappeared leaving just a purplish smoke in its place. Robin eyed their enemies, his head spinning for their best course of action. He noticed a sniper and a dark knight ready to attack.

"Bow, your left, 20 paces." He muttered to the Lord. Chrom nodded, grinning.

"Now!" Robin shouted. Both men leaped towards their targets. The sniper let loose an arrow in Chrom's direction, which he dodged, barely grazing his shoulder. He lunge his sword to the sniper's heart, killing the risen instantly.

Sprinting towards his target, Robin noticed a hero was also approaching him from his left, sword at the ready. As soon as he came in range, Robin swung his shield towards the hero's wrist, dropping his attacker's sword before it even gained enough momentum to do any harm. The risen's eyes widened, no doubt trying to understand what had happened. Robin then pierced his left shoulder with his steel sword. The risen screamed painfully. Robin ignored the noise, and with one fluid motion, shifted the hero's body towards his original target. The hero was burned to a crisp from his own comrade's Arcfire spell. The dark knight stopped moving for a moment, trying to comprehend the event unfolding before his eyes. Not one to waste a perfectly good chance, Robin leaped in front of the tome-wielder, sword ready to pound.  _One swing_. It only took him just one powerful swing to cleaved the rider's head from his body.

Robin silently watched the dissipating corpse before him, noticing the air around him was getting heavier. He felt a slight burn on his exposed face and, realizing what about to happen, quickly jump out from the spot. As soon as he stopped his hops, Robin just noticed a fireball was closing on him. Unable to dodge in time, he instinctively raised his shield to block the attack. He flinched a little bit from the heat, and the impact from the fireball somehow managed to drop him to his knees. He saw the floor where he stood just now was somehow melted, leaving behind some sort of goo in place. Judging by the smoke rising from the pool, a very hot goo. Robin noticed the origins of his new attackers. Two mages emerged from the shadow behind were the throne, tome at the ready, watching him.

"Huh, that's annoying." Robin muttered under his breath, clearly irritated. He was trying to contemplate his next move, when a loud clang broke him from his thought.

Chrom was now engaging two swordmasters in the middle of the area, with a sage trying to aim her attack. Seeing this, Robin ignored the mages on his side and jolted to Chrom, shield half-raised anticipating an attack. Sure enough, the sage released her Arcfire attack towards the swordsmen. Robin managed to get in the fray just in time to block the magic with his shield, letting out a loud cry from the burn he felt on his arm.

"You alright there buddy?" Chrom asked his friend lightly. He had somehow managed to repel both the swordmasters, and for a brief moment, the fight stopped, giving all four men time to catch their breath.

"No, I'm not alright. This is like, the worst thing that can happen. Do you know how hard it is to get rid of burn scars? Ask Lissa. She'll hit you on the head if you ask her to do it. And Maribelle'd just outright kill you rather than deal with it." Robin joked, trying to ease their situation.

Chrom chuckled lightly hearing his friend's response. "Ready for round two?" He asked to no one in particular.

Both men were now standing back to back, with Chrom not letting his eyes away from the swordmasters, and Robin eyeing the three tome-wielders. Both were grinning widely.

"Fools, what are you waiting for? Erase them from existence." Validar finally broke his silence, demanding the undead soldiers do what they were supposed to.

"Turn around,  _now_." Robin said to Chrom, before sprinting towards the sorcerer from earlier, ignoring his other targets.

Chrom, knowing what he should do, rushed past the swordmasters, parrying their attack. He swiftly changed his direction, letting out a wide slash, managing to hit one of the swordman's back.  _Too shallow_. He said to himself. With his new positioning, Chrom now had complete view of their battlefield. He saw Robin focusing onto one of the magic users, occasionally shifting his direction, dodging the others' attacks. His sight interrupted by a blur coming in front of him. Realizing he still needed to dispatch the two swordsmen, he raised his own sword to around his chest, ready to counter.

Robin meanwhile, was inching to his target. Twenty paces. Ten paces. He raised his shield just enough to cover his face, and rammed the slab of steel to the sorcerer's face. Robin swiftly pierced his sword to the sorcerer's chest, impaling his heart. He kicked the body from his sword, and turned towards the sage near him. Before he managed to even cast a spell from the tome, Robin cut his hands, dropping the book. He put his sword to his throat, instantly killing him.

At the other side of the field, Chrom had managed to kill both the swordmasters, leaving only Validar and the sage from earlier.

"Bah, useless fools." Validar barked, shooting a Thoron spell to the woman's head. She disappeared into a purplish smoke, not knowing what had killed her.

"Why would you do that? For all we know, she's your ticket outta here." Robin asked Validar, clearly irritated by his father's action.

Validar just watched the two men in front of him. Silent. He opened the tome in his hands, ready to attack.

"Be careful. Something's not right." Robin cautioned his friend. Chrom just shook his head in agreement.

"Up!" Robin shouted, pushing Chrom to the side. Three magical spikes now stood where they were once, dissipating into thin air after a few moments. Robin could clearly see the three holes from the attack. He realized some sort of spiky wall had formed before Validar. Putting his glowing hand on his tome, Validar somehow launched two spikes at his son. Robin hopped back two steps, dodged the first, and parried the second spike with his shield. Validar grinned menacingly.

Robin and Chrom were flipping and moving all over the area for some time now. They were clearly out of breath. Dodging. Parrying. Shielding. They only managed to keep the spikes from piercing them. Robin realized it would be just a matter of time before one of them slipped up. A wrong turn. A slower dodge. A smaller step. Validar only needed one instant of them screwing up, before the tide would turn.  _Turned out he didn't need the sage after_   _all_. Determine to get them out of the predicament, Robin sheathed his sword. He raised his shield to cover his chest, ducking his head into the shield. Robin rushed towards Validar, ignoring the burn he felt when the spikes would occasionally hit him. Chrom, realizing Robin's plan, swiftly started moving towards Validar, dodging and parrying the magical spikes along the way.

Just as he did earlier, Robin rammed his shield towards Vallidar, flinching him, stopping his onslaught.

"Gah!" Validar gasped for air from Robin's attack. Before he could recover, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked to his right to see Chrom had planted the Falchion right in the side of his stomach.

"You….you…." Validar laid there, motionless. Chrom pulled the sword from the corpse and smiled to his friend.

"We di…." His words cut out from Robin ramming him with his shoulder, shielding him from Validar's magic. The last struggle of a dying man. Robin was flung to the magic wall separating them from the rest of their comrades.

"Heh, heh. I win." Validar mocked, grinning. His bloody mouth really made him more eerie than usual. Validar died, and the purple wall soon began to disappear.

"Robin!" Chrom shouted, sprinting towards his tactician.

"I'm fine Chrom. Let's not do that again." Robin said to the smiling exalt walking towards him.  _Stab him! No! Stab him. Do it. Do it!_  Robin heard the voice in his head. The same voice ordering him to take the Fire Emblem not too long ago.  _No! No! No!_  He felt his head spinning, his vision blurred, and then everything went dark.

When he came to his senses, Robin saw Chrom lying in front of him, bloody. His sword piercing the bluenette's gut.

"No! No! Chrom! Talk to me!" Robin rushed to his friend, cursing his carelessness. Validar had won. And he didn't see it coming. He had done it once. He could do it again.

"It's…. it's not your f-fault." Chrom whispered weakly to him.

"Go. Save them. Save yourself." Chrom pleaded.

"Don't you dare say that. We came here together, we'll go back together. That will never change. Always." Robin said, pouring some vulnerary on his friends wound, pulling his sword out.

"Frederick! Get over here,  _now!_ " Robin shouted just as the purple wall completely disappeared. The Sheperds had managed to fend off most of their attackers, still leaving some risens left.

Frederick rushed to his commander's aid.

"Take him." Robin said to the great knight, tying Falchion to the other side on his hip. Frederick nodded, taking the lord onto his horse.

"Lon'qu, Gregor, open a path. Gaius, Ricken, Miriel, cover them. Cordelia, report.  _Now_." Robin ordered. Cordelia flew beside him, eyeing her surroundings.

"No casualties for now. But I don't know how much longer we can take. They're probably getting reinforcements as we speak. We should go,  _now_." Cordelia answered, stating her mind. Robin nodded in agreement, before noticing something, or rather, someone in the distance.

"No. Frederick!" Robin shouted, rushing towards the great knight carrying his friend.

Frederick shoulder armor was almost melted when Robin managed to push the knight out of the way, his left arm caught in the acidic rain. Frederick dropped to the ground, dropping Chrom alongside him. Both unconscious.

"Gah!" Robin writhed in pain, clenching his left arm. He could feel the burn seeping through his flesh, all the way to the bone.

Cordelia had managed to pierce the sorcerer with her javelin, killing him instantly. She dashed to where Robin was sitting.

"I'm fine. Sully, Stahl, help Frederick. Sumia, take Chrom with you. Vaike, guard her." Helped by Cordelia, Robin instructed his friends. All four of them followed without any hesitation.

With Lon'qu and Gregor at the helm, the injured in the middle, Robin, Cordelia, and Kellam guarding the rear, and the rest of the Sheperds keeping the enemies out of range, they managed to escape the battlefield, everyone intact. At least, that's what Robin was hoping for. He instructed the three healers to focus on Chrom and Frederick on their way home, occasionally pouring some vulnerary on his left arm to sooth the pain. He watched from the back, as the Sheperds, clearly tired from their constant skirmish, marched sluggishly towards Ylisstol, barely stopping just to catch their breath. Just before crossing the border from Plegia, Robin watched back to his homeland once more, noticing the reddish tint of the sunset, glowing through the mountains' peak, before everything went dark.

* * *

"….bin. Robin." The voice woke him from his thought. Robin turned his head around to see Sumia and Lissa standing behind him, bloodshot eyes, no doubt from crying.

"You should go see him." Sumia said softly.

Robin gave a warm smile to the women, ruffling his brown hair before getting up. Lissa helped him stay on his feet, and he followed the falcon knight and the war cleric into one of the rooms.


	2. The Touch of Children

Robin and the two royals entered the room at the end of the corridor. Undetected by the women, he swiftly gazed around, skimming through the four corners of the room. A habit he picked up in his early days as a mercenary, which he couldn't seem to shake off, even in times of peace. The room wasn't awfully big, nor it extravagant. They decided to change some of the guest rooms in the palace to makeshift wards harboring their heavily injured ones. Just so the healers would have an easier time monitoring them. This one was Chrom's, and Frederick was next door.

Sumia lifted a chair from one corner of the room and put it close to the bed in the center. Robin, with Lissa's help, sat beside the bed, silent. His eyes fixed on the person lying on the bed before him. The once great man he called his friend, his  _brother_ , gone, leaving behind just a silhouette of what he was. And  _he_  was at fault.

"We'll….leave you two alone. Just, take it easy, okay? Sumia broke the silence in the room. Robin could sense a hint of sadness, and hope in her voice. And it would be his fault when it crush into nothingness in due time. Robin just gave a dry smile to the both women before they went out the room, closing the door.

Robin eyed Chrom once more, trying to find his friend underneath this, husk of a man. Gone are his once full lips, rallying the Sheperds with Robin's tactics before their every skirmish. His radiant face now swapped with wrinkles, making him look few years older. His luscious, blue hair now pales without shine. He somehow looked older, smaller,  _weaker_.  _He's now down for the pickings, if someone somehow managed to finish the job, he's done for_. Robin snapped out of his thought, cursing under his breath. He noticed Chrom started opening his eyes. And there it was. The one thing Robin was searching for, the one thing this man in front of him and his  _friend_  had in common. His eyes shone brightly. Full of life and hope.

"You look awful." Chrom joked, smiling at his friend sitting beside his bed.

"Yeah, look who's talking." Robin countered, smirking. "How do you feel?" He added.

"Well, to quote  _you_  after our every fight, like half-man half-bed." Chrom answered, grinning sheepishly. Robin chuckled at his friend's response. He  _did_ say that a lot through their lengthy skirmishes, especially during the Valmese

Campaign, when the stakes were the highest, and one small mistake could lead to an unrecoverable loss.  _Until now_.

Both men just sat there, not muttering a single word for some time, not knowing what could, or should be said to one another.

"Chrom, I…." Robin finally broke the long silence, when Chrom decided to cut him.

"Robin, stop." He said sternly. Robin was stupefied by Chrom's sudden rebuttal. He looked at his friend silently, waiting for what would come next.

"I know what you're going to say. That this is all your fault. That you should've seen it." The lord said to the tactician.

"We both know,  _you_  of all people should know it's not your fault. There's no way for you to predict something that contradicts the law of the world. We,  _I_ went there knowing full well what might happen. It's not your fault." Chrom assured his friend, smiling warmly at the tactician.

"And I for one am glad it's me instead of you. We both know this isn't the end. I won't be able to come this far without you. And I don't know how far they will get without you as their eyes. They need you, now more than ever." Robin listened silently, absorbing his friend's words with none of his to give.

"I think this is how fate chose to settle my debt to you. For what my father did, for what  _I_ did to you." Robin could see the glisten of tears in Chrom's eyes, and he knew Chrom meant every words.

"Chrom, stop." It was Robin's time to cut the Exalt, mimicking his words just now.

"I've told you what I felt about that years ago. Sins of the father's not for the child to bear. If it is, what do you think I should pay for… This." Robin halfly joked, his right hand gesturing to Chrom, still lying on the bed.

Chrom chuckled hearing his friend's answer. Robin just smiled to his friend, waiting for any clever remark from the young lord. The chuckles then turned to giggles, before escalating to a full-fledged laughter from both men. It lasted for several minutes before they stopped, gasping for air.

Chrom took his right hand from his blanket, slowly made a fist, handing it to Robin. Knowing what would happen, Robin got up from his seat and handing Chrom his own. They locked their right hands at each other's wrist, smiling towards one another.

"Look after them for me." Chrom pleaded to Robin.

"Be at peace, brother." Robin assured his friend.

"Nothing will happen to them as long as I'm alive. I promised you." He added. They maintained their gaze, not muttering a single word for some time before Chrom decided to break the silence.

"Please don't kiss me. I want my last to be from my wife and daughters." Chrom joked.

"Well, if that is your last words  _milord_ , then as your tactician I will be happy to oblige." Robin answered mockingly, breaking their, for a lack of better word, handshake, giving a slight bow.

Both men have made their peace. Chrom knew his family and comrades are in good hands. And Robin, knowing his next purpose, determined not to fail again. The lord and the tactician shared another understanding look before Robin exited the room, a new glow in his eyes.

* * *

Burnt houses. Burnt houses everywhere. And fields, lands, trees.  _Corpses_. Everywhere he looked, there was just one scene. He could only see the blackness of coal and ash, he could only felt the heat of embers on his skin. The smell of burnt flesh prickled his nose. But he paid no mind to these. His mission was far more important than all those combined. He and few others had been there for hours, searching for survivors.  _Any survivor_. Then suddenly, his eyes caught the shadow of something among the trees. Something, or,  _someone_  that should not be there. Curious, he made a move towards the slightly burnt forest, sword in hand just in case. And without telling, without asking, two of his comrades also followed him.  _Comrades_. What did that even mean? He remembered having a few of those once. A long time ago. Maybe. No matter. This was far more important than any comrade he might or might not have one lifetime before. Realizing his target had already noticed him and the others, he picked up his pace. And the other two did the same. They chased the mysterious figure deep into the forest, abandoning their other comrades focusing on their mission.

They chased the shadow for sometime before stopping at a clearing in the woods. At last, they had the chance to see their snooper. Judging from the shape of the body, it was clearly a woman. Tall and slender, with somewhat stern feel to her. She had long, red hair reaching to her waist, accentuated by two wing-like hair clips on her head. Her skin was smooth, and her face radiant. Her ruby-like eyes, coldly gazed at the three of them. She was clearly beautiful. Had they saw her long before, in a more peaceful time, the three of them might just fight each other for a chance at courting her. But this was not time of peace. And she clearly did not have time for courting. She clenched her brave lance in both hands, bringing the tip to shoulder's height. The four of them just stared at each other, waiting for someone to make a move.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Chrom's funeral. Since then, Robin had found himself spending more time at the small stairs fronting the center garden, staring at the sky. Especially during the sunrise and sunset. He would often find himself staring at the red sky before starting and after finishing his work for the day.

After Chrom's gone, the burden of Exalt fell on Lissa's shoulder. As the royal advisor, he tried his best to support the blonde princess. Almost immediately after the funeral, the so called nobles and lords tried tirelessly to get Lissa to dance on their palm. It took all of his being not to drive his sword into each and every one of them. The one thing that he couldn't stand about peace was politics. He always knew he wanted nothing to do with politics. The three years he spent rebuilding Ylisse with Chrom after the war with Plegia was more brutal than he'd ever experience. And he had seen  _a lot_. The lies, backstabbing, and betrayals stung more than in the war. He had to make sure everything they fought for, everything  _Emmeryn_  fought for didn't crumble. If not for those in his life now, he'd just be on his merry way after the Plegian war, fighting for another war-hungry lord, or defending some snotty brat with excess coins to spare. And if he were to do that, he wouldn't have the two most important to him right now.

"Uncle Robin?" Robin didn't need to look to know the origin of the voice calling from behind him. He quickly relaxed his face and with a soft smile turned to meet his visitor.

"Hey, Lucy. What's wrong?" Robin looked to see Lucina standing behind him, dressed in a light blue sundress that accentuated her short, blue hair, no doubt inherited from her father.

"Um, well… you see…" Robin just smiled at the fidgeting toddler before him, rubbing her thumbs together, trying to find her voice.

"Um… mother's busy tending to Cynthia, and Aunt Lissa and Uncle Ricken's busy in the office. So…" Robin could already imagine what the young princess was trying to say, but he just waited for her to complete her sentence, smiling warmly to the almost four-year-old.

"Can…can I sit with you for a while, just until mother's finish with Cynthia?" For some reason, Chrom's eldest was really fond of him. Partly because he was the one that named her, she only let him called her by her nickname. Although that never stopped Lissa from calling her by that name in one of her teasings. And she would pout playfully at her aunt, before both smiled and laughed with each other.

"Sure sweetie. Come on." Robin answered, extending his right hand to her.

Robin looked amusingly while Lucina took his hand with her left and right hands, gripping as tightly as she could, trying not to let go. Robin just chuckled at how much power she had, for toddler. Robin gazed at another thing she inherited from her father, the Exalt Brand in her left eye for a few second, before bringing her to his lap. They sat there, looking at the clear, blue sky.

The tactician patted the princess' head, noting at how soft her hair was, reminding him of his daughter.  _His own daughter_ , whom he hadn't seen for months. He silently cursed himself and the war that happened keeping him from his most precious. He continued playing with Lucina's hair, which she didn't seem to mind.

"You know Lucy, you should try growing out your hair. I think it'll suit you much better than your short hair." Robin finally broke their silence after some time.

"Really?" Lucina slightly turned her head to see Robin smiling at her. Knowing what the smile meant, she blushed slightly before turning her head back to the center garden.

"I'll… try to talk to mother then." She answered.

"Do you see that big bush over there?" Robin asked the blue-haired still sitting on his lap, pointing to one corner of the garden wall with his left hand.

Sensing Lucina was looking at the direction he told her, Robin continued.

"If you go into the bush, you'll see a hole in the garden wall, big enough for a man to go through." Robin explained to the girl.

"A hole?" Lucina asked.

"Yup. Your father told me he  _accidentally_  put it there during one of his training session. That man had more than enough strength for his own good…" Robin stopped realizing what he said.  _Had_.

"Lucy, I'm sor…" He tried apologizing quickly before the princess cut him.

"Father…" Lucina muttered, her voice low and weak.

"Father's…not coming back, is he?" She asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm sorry Lucy." Robin answered, patting Lucina's head with his right hand. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

"I'll train too. I want to be strong. For mother, and Cynthia." Lucina broke their silence.

"Do you think I'll be as strong as father, Uncle Robin?" She posed.

"Lucy." Robin answered, his right hand slowly turning her head towards him.

"You'll be stronger than both of us combined. That, I guarantee you." The tactician assured her, smiling warmly to his niece. Robin noticed her face lit up hearing his answer. And he meant every word.

"Lord Robin." They were interrupted by a calling from behind. A maidservant was standing in the hallway, looking at them.

"Lady Cordelia is here. She has some news for you. She's waiting in the main chamber with her highness and the queen." She relayed.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Robin thanked the servant. She gave them a slight bow before leaving towards the kitchen area, presumably to continue her work.

"Come on. Let's get you back to your mother." Robin said, standing slowly. They made their way to the destination with the princess still squeezing his hand tightly.

* * *

Robin and Lucina entered the main chamber where the three women were waiting for him. Subtly, he shot a look to Cordelia without notifying the others. Just when they got in talking range, he felt Lucina loosen her grip on his hand, and went for her mother.

"Lucina, mother need to talk with Uncle Robin for a little bit. Why don't you go check on your sister. I think she's playing with your cousin right now." Sumia muttered to her eldest. The blue-haired princess just silently nodded and went on her way to one of the room on the side of the chamber.

"The border's not looking so good." Cordelia spoke just as soon as Lucina's out of the room. The tactician and the two royals raised their eyebrows at Cordelia's  _news_.

"I give them a week before they cross the border. And another one before we start getting report of attacks." The red-haired knight reported, her voice calm, but stern.

"Then we need to move quickly." Lissa said with concern in her voice.

"What do you mean  _we_?" Robin asked, not even expecting an answer.

"Lissa, you're the Exalt now. I can't let the leader of the country go to battle. With  _undead soldiers_  nonetheless." He voiced his thinking, loudly at that.

"But you let Chrom follow you to battle.  _Twice_." The Exalt countered her advisor, clearly trying to restrain her pouting.

"Yes, that's because he can knock me unconscious for two days if I don't." Robin mused.

"And looked what happened when I let him go to battle." He added, with a serious tone in his voice. All four of them stood there silently thinking what they had lost in their last one.

"So, is it safe to assume I'm also not allowed on the battlefield?" Sumia finally broke the dead air surrounding them, asking calmly.

"I'm afraid not Sumia. With Frederick's out, I'm gonna need someone I can trust to guard the Exalt. And who's more trustworthy than her own family?" He answered.

"Oh relax you two. It's nothing we haven't done before. We'll do what we always did. We go there, clear the border, we come home. You won't even notice us gone, right Cordelia?" Robin added, smiling and shooting a glance at the other falcon knight standing beside Sumia.

"Always." Cordelia answered, also smiling towards the two royals.

"Then I bid you good luck. And please be careful." Sumia said softly to the tactician and her best friend. Both of them gave a slight nod and proceeded to walk out of the room, clearly talking about how they would approach this next mission.

Sumia watched the two silhouettes walking towards the exit, silently muttered to herself. "They're lying."

* * *

"How bad was it?" Robin asked Cordelia as soon as they were outside. The playful demeanor he had just now, gone.

"Southtown's fallen. Burned to the ground before I even got there. They'll start moving soon." She answered swiftly.

"Then they have two points to advance from there." Robin stated, clearly calculating in his head.

"Robin. If they…" Cordelia said to the tactician, a slight concern could be heard in her voice.

"I know. And nothing's gonna happen. I promise you that." Robin assured her.

"We're going to need the knights for this one. And tell Donny too. He'd want to know what will go down this time." He instructed the red-haired woman. Understanding his words, Cordelia nodded silently, and both of them made their way to the barracks, preparing for another battle.


	3. Winning and Losing part I

The door to the meeting room opened with a loud creak. Robin stepped inside, eyeing the four corners of the room, like he always did. There was only a large, oak desk in the center of the room. He also noticed four figures surrounding the table, now looking at his direction. Two knights, both donning the paladin armor, a swordmaster, with two killing edge tied to his left waist, and a veteran mercenary, now wearing a hero getup. Robin smiled to the four the falcon knight decided to bring into the room. Cordelia knew him well.

"I already briefed them. I'm gonna go get Donny as well." Cordelia said from behind him, already steps away from the door.

"Thanks." Robin answered shortly. She just nodded to him before disappearing into the corner of the barrack.

"How much did she tell you?" The tactician asked his four companions, stepping inside the room, closing the door simultaneously.

"I certainly hope all of it." One of the knights spoke. A  _lady_  knight, to be exact. Not that it would make any difference. For as long as he knew her, Sully was one of the best, if not the best knight he had ever known. A skillful lancer, she would always be the first to spearhead their attacks. Although that would sometime lead her to be right in the center of their enemies' vanguards, it was nothing she and her husband couldn't handle. Her husband Stahl, not bad with a sword himself, would always be by her side. Their teamwork was top notch, even among the Sheperds themselves, which wasn't too surprising considering their both were apprentices of the great knight Frederick. They were trained together from a young age, watching each other's front and back. With Frederick still recuperating from their last skirmish, the pair was definitely the best candidate for his absence.

Robin chuckled hearing her answer. He then proceeded to explain the exact situation to the four of them. The four others just nodded, absorbing the information from the tactician.

"So that's the situation. From there, there're only two logical points to advance. Here, and  _here_." Robin explained, his index finger pointing on two points on the map.

"But that's…" Sully muttered, eyes fixed on the map.

"Donny's village." Stahl said what was lingering on his wife's mind. Robin nodded in agreement. A loud creak from the door ruptured their attention, and all five shifted their gaze to the source. Three people were standing at the door, Donnel and his wife Nowi in front, and Cordelia, a good one foot taller than the two, looking into the room.

"Robin, 'ma…" Donnel lipped with a worried voice. The tactician nodded, acknowledging his concern.

"We still have time. The risens are vicious towards their targets, but their slow to move from one. I want you three to go with Cordelia to the village. If they do decide to go there, there won't be time to evacuate. Barricade the village.  _One choke point_." Robin directed, looking at the soldier and the two cavaliers, before turning his gaze to Cordelia. All four of them nodded in understanding.

"I want Vaike and Miriel too." Cordelia broke her silence, not even bothering to explain why.

"Done. Two healers, three mid-rangers, one bruiser. That's not enough." Robin contemplated, moving his index finger to his chin, calculating.

"I wish Cherche and Lady Tiki were here as well." He muttered to no one in particular.

"Robin!" A high-pitched voice broke him from his thinking. All the eyes in the room shifted towards its source, a small-statured girl with pointy ears and greenish hair. A manakete, Donnel's wife.

"What about me? I can fly.  _And_  I can be the long-ranger." The shapeshifter said, pointing her index finger towards herself, smiling. Robin raised his eyebrows hearing this.

"Nowi." He said shortly.

"You're  _pregnant_." The tactician added, voice rising slightly.

"Yes. But you always said, and I quote,  _a great tactician must know when to utilize all his assets, and when to keep them_. I'd say this is as good time as any." She countered, making sure to speak in the deepest voice she could conjure, grinning from ear to ear. Robin's eyebrows now twitched silently. He shot the falcon knight standing behind her a look, before doing the same to Donnel, the soldier now scratching the back of his head, smiling rather sheepishly.

"Fine. But I want you in the  _back_ , miles away from the fighting in the  _front_." Nowi's eyes lit, and a triumphant smile covered her face hearing the tactician's answer.

"That's good and all, but I don't think Vaike'd be able to take it for long, even with two healers." Robin voiced his concern, clearly planning for the berserker to act as the wall separating them from the enemy.

"Oy, what about Gregor, hmm?" The veteran mercenary finally broke his silence.

"No. I need you two with me. We need to get to the other point before they do." Robin responded, not looking to the other two swordsmen.

"Then take us." A smooth, matured voice broke their attention. Each one of them now was looking towards the opened door. With the three blocking his view, all Robin could see were two distinct, rabbit ears and the tip of a mage hat. Cordelia took Nowi inside the room, making way for the two standing outside to enter. Another shapeshifter, a taguel this time, and a mage, a few years younger than Robin made their way inside.

"No, Panne. You should stay here with your husband. I can't ask you to come with us after what happened last time." Robin uttered to the taguel. He then shifted his gaze towards the mage beside her.

"Ricken, you're the current exalt husband. Just as I told her, I can't have members of the royal family running out and about in the battlefield.  _Not anymore_." He pleaded to the mage.

"Robin, please. I may be her husband, but I'm a Shepherd too. Let me do something as well. You taught me that to save a life, one must be prepared to take a life. Of the enemy, or your own. And besides,  _I'm one of your assets. I won't die without your permission_." Just like Nowi, Ricken tried to reason with the tactician. Robin looked at the sage for a few seconds, before releasing a losing sigh.

"You know, Lissa's starting to get in your head a little bit too much. What about you? Don't you have one of my quotes you wanna rub too?"  _What's with these guys and my quotes?_  Robin said to Ricken in his defeat, before giving the taguel next to him a look.

"No, we both know he'll be fine. And I think helping you defend a village is a better use of my time than watching a grown man sleep all day." Panne answered rather nonchalantly, making light of her husband's condition. Robin rolled his eyes, rubbing his temple upon hearing her answer.  _Most people would do anything to get away from a battle_. Watching at the scenes playing out before her, Cordelia tried her best to keep her giggles,  _and failed miserably_. She chuckled silently in the back, to which he shot her a look.

"Don't worry Robin. I'll keep them safe. I promise." The falcon knight said to the tactician, finally breaking off her laughs. Robin just nodded, finally smiling to his comrades. Cordelia led them out of the room, leaving behind the tactician, the mercenary, Gregor and the Chon'sinese swordmaster, Lon'qu to dicuss their side of the battle.

* * *

Swords. Everywhere he looked, there were swords scattering, sticking on the ground around him. He gazed at the sword closest to him. A curved blade, with golden guard and pommel. The hilt, wrapped with what looks like to be brown leather, was slightly crooked to the other side of the blade, making a shallow 'S' shape. The golden guard shaped like a small axe, protruding from both sides. There was a cross-shaped star, also golden in color, with a red jewel in the center, giving the guard, and the sword a distinct character from all the swords scattered around it.

As he looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening, he heard a voice. A familiar voice, humming a familiar melody. Carefully, he treaded the swords-littered ground, searching for the source. He stopped in his track upon seeing its origin. It was a man, sitting on the ground with his back to him a good thirty paces in front of him. But he didn't need to see his face to know his identity. He knew it all too well. The brown, spiky hair. The slightly crouched shoulder whenever he would focus on something in front of him. The purple robe, with lighter shade of purple lines in the middle, and golden trims at the sleeves and bottom.

Robin noticed a sword stuck on the ground beside the man. It was wider than most swords. The guard was practically non-existed as a result of the blade design. There was a blood-red jewel decorating the golden hilt. What really stood out to him was the blade itself. There was a hole on the blade, starting from the hilt, going to more than half of the sword. It reminded him of the Falchion, albeit wider and bigger. The man,  _Robin_  was still humming the melody from before, not detecting, or rather, ignoring the tactician watching him. He stood up, and Robin's face lit seeing the content in his hands. A child, around three years old.  _His daughter_ , sleeping in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. Still humming, the man started to move rhythmically to the melody.

_Huhum hu~m huhu~m_

_Huhu~m hum huhu~m_

_Hu~m hu~m huhu~m_

_Huhu~m huhu~m…_

Robin watched as he lulled his baby to sleep. He couldn't help but smile warmly to the scene playing in front of him. He had watched her mother done it more than he could count. He himself had done it probably hundreds of time. And yet, what he wouldn't give to hold his daughter, rocking her in his arms, sending her to sleep one more time right this instant.

Then, the humming stopped. His daughter was sound asleep. Her face content. The man then turned towards him, grinning wickedly.

Robin could sense something was wrong. He started making his way towards the two of them. He was shaking furiously, hoping his thoughts wouldn't realize.

_Robin_  yanked the sword beside him, his other hand still holding his daughter.

Robin sprinted not bothering to change direction. He grabbed one of the swords lying in front of him. A black sword with gold ornament, covering more than half of the blade itself. It looked like to be more of an ornamental sword decorating a noble or royal's house than a weapon used for fighting. But Robin didn't care. Something was about to happen to his daughter, and he'll be damned if he let it played out.

_Robin_  was now pointing the Falchion-like sword towards the toddler in his arm, still grinning widely.

Robin's eyes now changed to a deep red, he could feel a surge of energy flowing through him. He leaped towards his target, hissing loudly.

* * *

"No!" Robin snapped to reality. The man and his daughter, gone. He eyed his surroundings. The swords scattering about were nowhere in sight. He was in his room in the barracks.

"A… dream? What the…" Robin rubbed his temple, breathing deeply. He could feel a knot in his gut, and his throat dry. He got out of his bed, reaching for the jug of water on the table beside. He could feel the chill in air, seeping through his skin all the way to his bones. He could see the reddish tint in the sky from the window of his room. Cordelia and the others had left for their destination yesterday, the day after they had the meeting. He and the rest of the Sheperds were going to march the first thing in the morning. He rustled his hair and changed his clothes. A simple mercenary outfits, and his purple cloak on top of it all. He tied his steel sword to his hip, and a long knife,  _a parrying dagger_  on his left thigh. With his shield all but destroyed in the last assault and getting a suitable replacement would take weeks, he opted for a more offensive way this time around. After giving his two blades another pat, confirming their position, he stepped outside of his room, just as the sun started showing its face. They were heading for another battle.


	4. Winning and Losing part II

Kellam stood his shield on the ground beside him, and with his now free hand, swept some sweat from his forehead. He rested his lance he was holding in his other hand against the shield, and started stretching. Amidst the clanking sound his heavy armor made from the movement, he could hear the sound of his joints popped, relieving his strained muscles. He let out a loud, relaxing groan at the feeling of all the tensions leaving his body.

"Kellam, dear. Please stop doing that. You look like an uncivilized mutt from a slum, hardly fitting for a gallant general of Ylisse." Kellam chuckled hearing the words coming out from behind him. It took him three years of living together to finally comprehend those words.  _Don't be a sloppy mess, especially if you're in a war. Death usually follows inattentiveness close behind._

"Sorry, Mari. We've been marching for almost three hours now. And if Robin's prediction is true, I need to be ready for the rest of the day." The armored man answered nonchalantly, still stretching the rest of his body, ignoring the clink-clank of the steel wrapping his whole body.

"Being prepared is good and all, but please refrain doing that in front of Brady. That boy has been imitating you a lot lately. Gods know what he will pick up seeing you like this.  _Here_." He could feel a soothing sensation seeping in his body, loosening up the stiffness. It was at time like this he was glad he married a healer.

The general eyed the field in front of him. Robin had decided to separate the rest of the Sheperds to three teams. The tactician, Lon'qu, Libra and Gaius would act as their vanguard, meeting the enemies head on. Slightly behind them, Kellam could see Gregor, Anna, the Plegian dark mages Henry and Tharja were waiting to his left. It seems like the quartermaster was saying something to the team, while Gregor and Henry were nodding their heads. Tharja was just looking in Robin's direction, smiling shoddily.  _Who knows what's playing in her head right now_. With no bush or building to mask their presence, Robin decided for a more direct approach. And he and Maribelle were tasked for the most important part, which was guarding the only thing linking the plain in front of him and the village about an hour's journey from their spot.  _The bridge behind him_. A silhouette of a certain orange-haired thief walking towards him caught his eyes.

"Hey, Rook, Twinkles. How's it going?" Gaius addressed them, waving his hand rather cheerfully. Kellam could see the stick of a lollipop jutting out of his mouth, as usual.

"Ugh, how many times must I tell you not to call me that? And why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be in Robin's team?" Clearly irritated, Maribelle bombarded the approaching thief.

"Oh, Bubbles want me to be in the back this time. With Virion's gone, someone needs to thin the herd before they reach you." The thief responded, tugging on the string of his silver bow, making sure its condition.

"What was that supposed to mean? Is he saying I am incapable of looking after my husband?" The valkyrie was fuming, clinging to her arcthunder tome, ready to pounce. Gaius just gave her a shrug, making the healer even more furious.

"Now, now Mari. I'm sure Robin didn't mean it like that. You always said two heads are better than one." Kellam said, calming his wife. "And besides, it's too late for him to go back now." His tone was serious. And for a good reason. In the distance, Robin and the other Sheperds were getting ready for their guests.

"Behind me you two." Kellam instructed, to which the duo obliged without complaints, readying their tome and bow. He reached for his shield and lance, anticipating. His mind went to his conversation with the tactician the night before.

* * *

"And that's the plan. I'm sure you two already know what would happen if only  _one_ of those risens pass through to the village." Robin remarked, singling out Kellam and Maribelle. Both of them just nodded in silence.

"Of course. They will multiply by the dozens at the end of the day. We might not even go there and it would not make any difference." The blonde noble answered sharply.

"Don't worry Robin. We're doing this for Brady as well. I won't even let a mouse passed through." Kellam reassured his friend, which was replied with a dry smile by the tactician.

* * *

The risen mages bombarded the trio with anything they could conjure. Fireballs flew through the field, some hitting their target, some landed on the nearby ground. Both ended with a loud boom. Supporting his shield with both hands, Kellam gritted his teeth covering his wife and friend from the onslaught.  _The enemies came prepared_. Whenever he would come close to his breaking point, he could feel the soothing zeal of healing magic from behind him. And the cycle continued for some time.

"You know Twinkles, it's about time we try something else. I don't think Rook can take it for much longer. I don't think  _you_  can keep doing this for much longer either." Kellam heard the bumbling thief shouting amidst the barrage of explosion coming their way.

"Then  _do_  something will you? This is hardly time for chit chat you know." Maribelle answered with a sharp tone, clearly irritated with something.

"I would if I could. But these guys aren't exactly cooperating right now. I just need one instance where they don't shoot at us." Gaius spoke.

"Whatever you two wanna do, do it fast." Kellam finally broke his silence since the battle started. Gaius and Maribelle saw the situation from behind the walking armor. Two warriors, each holding a hammer, now started approaching them.

"Ugh, fine. Kellam dear, hold on for a second okay?" Maribelle said to the men, and without waiting for answer, she focused her magic to her staff.

Kellam could feel the surge of energy, healing him completely. The noble then readied her arcthunder tome and just as two loud bangs pierced the surrounding, she released her magic to the two mages about to release another round of their magic towards them. Needless to say, it didn't do anything to the mages, except for stopping their movement for a moment.  _A moment Gaius had been waiting for._

"Thank you Twinkles!" He shouted, readying his bow and arrow. He flung two arrows straight to the other side.

One hit the approaching warrior in the eye, killing him instantly. Another flew right to one of the mages, piercing her right shoulder. Gaius sprinted towards the mage, silver sword in hand. He ran passed the other warrior, zigzagging through the field, dodging the fireballs from the other tome-wielder. Reaching striking distance, he kicked the ground with all his might, driving his body forward. He skewered the first mage, not even bothering to slow down. Her body changed to purple smoke after Gaius rammed her following the thrust. He was now face to face with the other mage. The thief quickly dodged his fireball, sliding towards his enemy, kicking his ankle in one motion. The risen fell to the ground, face first. Gaius then pierced his sword through the mage's back, killing him.

Kellam eyed the inching warrior, not letting him from his sight. His wife had finished working her magic. Packing a hammer, the warrior clearly had an advantage over him. But he had the added range of his lance. Like a true bulwark, he waited for the risen to close their distance, shield raised. As soon as the risen was in range, Kellam lunge his lance towards him, making sure to stay out of the assailant's reach. The warrior sidestepped to the left. Kellam swiftly pulled his lance back into defensive stance. Realizing his enemy was about to enter  _his_  range of attack, Kellam back away.  _One step_.  _Two steps_. He got back his reach advantage. Behind him, Maribelle had finished casting her support magic. Kellam could almost make out the magical shell covering both of them. He was ready to strike. Without warning, he thrust his lance towards the warrior. Just like before, the risen again dodge to the left. But Kellam now knew his foe. He pushed forward instead of pulling back his right hand, closing their distance. With all his might, he smashed the tower shield on the enemy. The risen fell backwards with a loud thud, his hammer slipped from his hand. He sank the pointy end of his lance to the warrior's chest. Kellam could feel the tip of his lance puncturing the warrior's heart, if he had any. He disappeared into purplish smoke soon after.

"Heads up." Gaius was now coming back to the couple.

Kellam shifted his gaze towards his direction. Two archers, a swordmaster and three myrmidons were in his immediate vicinity.  _Nothing we can't handle_. He looked towards his other friends in the front. It seems like Robin and the others had managed to clamp the movement of the enemy's main force from advancing. Amidst the purple smoke clouding the field, he could see silhouettes of mages and barbarians, among others. Kellam drew his sight back to the enemies closer to them. The three Sheperds readied for the incoming clash.

* * *

"Vaike, pull back. Panne, get ready to switch. Donny, make sure no  _pest_  get in. Miriel, Ricken, cover fire." Cordelia instructed her team, healing staff in her right hand, making sure Vaike had enough vigor to execute the tactics. She eyed her surroundings. Just as Robin instructed, they managed to barricade the village just in time for the attack.

With mountain range at their back, they only needed to wall the sides and part of the village's front. Nowi was with the villagers at the center of the village, in case anything happened. The falcon knight caught a blur of red and green darting towards the front. Sully and Stahl manage to reach the spot just in time for the switch. Alongside Donnel, the riders dispatched any risen fool enough to get in during the change. Ricken was supporting the taguel until she could reach her best spot for defense and offense. Miriel was now healing her fiancée to his fullest. Everything was going according to plan.  _A little bit too smoothly at that_.

"Cordelia!" She could hear Nowi's voice calling for her. She turned around to see the manakete, alongside Donnel's mother pointing her fingers to the east side of the sky. The redhead narrowed her eyes. Three pegasi were heading towards their direction.

"Miriel, take charge." She voiced to the sage in front of her, pointing towards the newcomers. Miriel gave her a nod and the Sheperds shifted their position accordingly.

Cordelia sprinted to her pegasus behind her, getting ready to take to the sky. She now had a clear view of the three riders. There was a dark flier among the women. She clicked her tongue thinking of the possibility of a wind magic,  _bane of any flier_ , playing a role from now. Contemplating her move, the falcon knight cautiously flew her pegasus to the sky.

* * *

"Checkmate."

"What! How's that even possible? I took out your queen three moves into the game." Cordelia protested to the smiling tactician sitting in front of her.  _For a former sellsword, Robin has an elegant smile_. The kind you could find on a noble's face in a ballroom, or in some treaty between lords.  _A perfectly forged, fake smile._

"You see, Cordy. The problem with you, or anyone else for that matter is you're too depending on your strongest piece. Remember, your army is only as strong as your weakest soldier. It doesn't matter if you're the strongest knight in the realm, you can't do anything if you're stuck in one place." Cordelia absorbed the brunette's words, looking at the chessboard separating her from him.

Her queen was stuck between a black pawn and a knight. Looking back, the white piece was grounded on the same side of the board for most of the round. She lost the moment she thought she had an advantage over the tactician for his lack of firepower. The pegasus rider let out a very audible sigh at the realization.

"You read me.  _Again_." She muttered to the smiling brunette, somewhat annoyed.

"If you want to be an efficient commander, you need to start looking things from the sky. And I'm not talking about your pegasus." Robin replied shortly.

"O…One more time." Cordelia pleaded to Robin, which he responded with a smile.

* * *

Cordelia rose to the sky on her steed, launching a short spear towards the trio. It didn't connect, but good enough to shift their attention to her. Upon meeting their gazes, the scarlet-haired knight grinned tauntingly. Like a moth to a flame, two of the risens, the falcon knights jetted towards her, each gripping a silver lance in hand.

With a tug at the rein, Cordelia flew towards the duo. Just outside their range, she swerved to the side. She jolted at the dark flier's direction. Two falcon knights right behind her. But she didn't care. She only had the magician in her eyes now.  _Their queen_. She put forth her buster lance, ready to strike. The black pegasus dodged to her right. Their eyes met amidst the clash. Cordelia passed through. She took a hard left behind them, stopping to catch her breath.

"That's annoying." Cordelia clicked her tongue.

The dark flier started retreating, eyes still on the Sheperd. The two falcon knights from before now caught up with them. Cordelia darted to her target once more. The tome-wielder immediately backed away, trying to get an initiative. Cordelia passed the other two once again. And they followed suit.

The scarlet-haired knight was in between the three risen fliers.  _And exactly where she wanted to be_. The dark flier couldn't use her  _surround magic_  even if she wanted to, lest she get caught in it as well. Cordelia focused on the magician flying in front of her. Skillfully tugging on the rein, kicking the saddle, wiling her pegasus to her command. She'd turn, glide, bank every time the black steed would approach the corner of her eyes.

With a firm jerk, she abruptly stopped midflight, sending the two lancers behind her in front. Both stilled impulsively. Without missing a beat, she jolted back in position, slightly angled. Her pegasus kicked the rider on her left, and she stabbed the wing of the pegasus on her right. It let out a loud neigh, before falling with its rider still on the back. The dark flier turned at the sound, only to found Cordelia mere inches before her.

* * *

She stared unblinkingly at the women in front of her. Twitching slightly, her irises narrowed down to mere dots in a white pool. Her mouth went agape, losing her voice. Her left hand went limp, dropping her tome. Her right hand moved slowly to her. Shaking furiously, she caressed her chest, only to find a pole, long and cold, jutting out of it. She grasped the beam, not letting go.

* * *

Cordelia yanked her buster lance from the women in front of her. Purple smoke now clouded her vision slightly. She gave her surroundings a quick glance, making sure she was alone. Satisfied, she went back to where she came.

By the time she arrived at the village, the battle was over. She was greeted by a green dragon upon arriving. They went back to their friends together. All of them still intact,  _still alive_. Vaike and Panne suffered some bruises here and there, but nothing some vulnerary couldn't fix.

"Good job." Cordelia said to Miriel. The sage just nodded to her, still healing the berserker and the shapeshifter.

"That's it? Hardly a workout." She turned around to see the owner of the voice. Sully and Stahl were standing behind her.

"I'm not one for fighting, much less the undead, but I'm with Sully on this." The knight, clad in green paladin armor added. "It feels…"

"Lacking." The falcon knight cut him. Both the riders nodded in agreement. She let out a very audible sigh. "It's a bait. And we went for it." She clarified.

"A bait?" Ricken joined their conversation. Cordelia moved her head up and down, her hair waved slightly along the motion.

"When there're two targets, there's always a possibility one's a bait. Their main force's most likely with Robin now." She closed her eyes, letting out another  _sigh_.

"Then we need to get to them pronto." Sully's voice broke her from her trance.

"No. There's still a possibility that's also what they wanted. It'll be for naught if we go and they come again. Like it or not, they're own their own. And so are we." Cordelia responded to the other redhead. The look on her eyes was enough to stop the paladin from pleading again.

"There's no way we can win this one is there?" Stahl broke his silence after some time.

Cordelia took a moment to view her surroundings. Miriel was still healing Vaike. Panne was sitting under a shade not far from them, most likely listening to their conversation just now. Nowi was talking to her mother-in-law, surrounded by her nieces, smiling wide as usual. Donnel was just there, smiling sheepishly to his sister, rubbing the back of her head. Some villagers were assessing the damage, some rebuilding the barricade, anticipating further battle. Cordelia shifted her gaze back to those surrounding her, letting yet another audible sigh.

"Someone close to Robin once said,  _we don't win anything from a war, we just fight not to lose everything_." Finally breaking her silence, she told the Sheperds what was on her mind.

"Don't worry guys. It's Robin. They'll be fine." Ricken said cheerfully, trying to lighten up his friends.

"I certainly hope so." Cordelia gave a smile to Ricken before changing her gaze towards the clear, blue sky.


	5. Winning and Losing part III

CLANK!

His sword locked with that of his attacker. The time stood still for both of them, neither wanting to give in. The chinking and chiming in the background never reached their ears. The roars of thunders and whams of blasts ignored. Their eyes met amidst the stillness, both sizing each other. After what seemed to be an eternity of cold glares and stares, one of them broke free from their stalemate. His irises turned red, his body wrapped in a reddish light, pulsating with a steady beat. With both his hands on the hilt, he pushed his opponent with all his might, sending her backwards a few steps.

He thrust forward with his sword, his right side moving forth with him. His opponent swiftly blocked with her shield, staggering him. She raised her sword, smashing the underside of his, leaving him wide open. Without delay, she brought her sword down with much vigor, determined to finish him. He unsheathed his other blade,  _a shorter one_ , and parried her slash in time. She lost her initiative. Stepping forward, he cut their distance. Knuckles white from gripping his sword, he brought his right hand forward. He punched his opponent in her gut along with the steel cold guard. She dropped her sword, clenching her stomach. He shoved his dagger to her throat. The blade poked out from behind her neck. Twisting it, he yanked the blade from its spot. She gagged a few times before completely disappeared into purple smoke. With his steel sword and parrying dagger in hands, he gave a look at his surroundings.

Robin could see they were outnumbered almost two to one. A risen mercenary came thrusting his sword towards him from behind the smoke in front of him. He parried the sword with his dagger, and without missing a beat, dug his sword into his left chest.

"Lon'qu, clip the brutes. Libra, with me." The tactician shouted his instructions, short and simple. Both his friends gave a nod, acknowledging the command. The warmonk rushed to Robin's side. Together, they hasted their way to the band of mages bombarding them with their magic. The swordmaster finished the fighter directly in front of him and made his way to the group of warriors and berserkers inching their way to the other Sheperds.

Robin and Libra were shooting straight to their targets. Seeing the two Sheperds heading their way, the mages stopped their barrage. They broke their formation, scattering away from the duo. Robin lunged forward at the sight, aiming his steel sword at the nearest mage. It stopped in thin air, barely missed the tome-wielder. He kicked the ground with his right foot, bringing the left side of his body, and his dagger forward. He made a wide slash with his left hand, barely grazing the risen's chest. Following the motion, he tucked his left hand to his right hip, blade pointing forward. He again kicked the ground, this time with his left foot, bringing his body forward. With the momentum, he rammed his left shoulder to the risen's throat, planting his dagger in his stomach simultaneously. The risen flinched in his spot, letting out a gag. The brunette raised his right hand with all his upper body strength. With one fluid motion, the risen's head dropped on the ground, rolling a few times before dissolving to purple smoke.

"Look out!" Robin heard Libra's voice nearing him before something pushed him on the side. He felled to the ground. "Ugh." He heard Libra's voice again, faintly this time. He opened his eyes to see Libra crouching in his spot, both hands raised and the flat surface of his axe hovering over his face.

"I'm fine, Robin." The blonde priest assured his friend. "Let's go." He leaped forward, chaining the push with a dash. Seeing the tactician in the corner of his eyes, he took another one of his hand axe from his back.

With one axe in each hand, Libra lowered his body, full speed towards his target. He could see the sage in his eyes grasping at the air in front of him, waving his hands violently. Risens had no fear, nor a sense of panic.  _Must be from his past life_. The healer stopped his left foot right in front of the sage. With it as his anchor, he pivoted his right side forward. He charged his right hand, along with the axe in it to his opponent's torso. With the momentum from his running, and the sheer power of his delivery, it hit with a loud thud. Libra could tell the edge of his axe contacted something solid.  _Solid, but brittle_. He could feel it shattered to pieces from his blow. He raised the other silver axe in his left hand, sending glares from the sun back to the sky. Gritting his teeth, the blonde brought it down with all his might. With a loud crack, the risen's head in front of him split in half like a watermelon. He could see another sage before him, charging a spell. He noticed a red blur rushed in front of him from his right.

Robin parried the fireball from the sage in front of his friend. It went to his left side, contacting the ground with a loud boom. He threw the parrying dagger in his left hand, jolting forward. The risen dodged to his left. The parrying dagger flew right through. The brunette thrust the steel in his right hand forth. The sage again dodged his strike, strafing to his left for the second time,  _where Libra was waiting_. The blonde bonked the sage with the blunt side of his axe, sending him back towards his original spot. Robin stabbed him in his gut, finishing the job. Both men looked at each other, nodding in acknowledgement.

Robin took a look at the scenery around him while catching his breath. He could see Gregor was flipping his way through a warrior's attack.  _Two back-steps, one somersault_ , he was out of the range. The risen lunged forward to close their distance, before a stab through the back stopped him. The veteran mercenary and Chons'sinese swordsman were completely in sync with each other. Gregor would bait an opening from the foes, weakening them down, while keeping them away from the two Plegians. And Lon'qu would deal the killing blow, swift and straight to the point. Anna would heal the two swordsmen, while launching an attack of her own with her Levin sword, synchronizing with the mages.

The crackling sound of thunder broke him out of his focus. He instinctively jumped to his side, startling the priest beside him. The silhouettes of risens of all kinds started to circle them _. Their second wave_. Robin's fear had come true. Seeing their friends had finished with their share of risens, Robin flailed his sword in front of him, sending glares to the other Sheperds' direction. Seeing this, Gregor and the other moved towards him. He and Libra also moved towards them, meeting them halfway.

* * *

The Sheperds now found themselves far away from their initial position. With their second wave, the risens had somehow managed to push Robin and the others to defense. With Kellam and the bridge at the very back, the tactician decided for a reverse triangle formation. Robin, Lon'qu and Gregor were at the helm, forming their first line of defense. The mages, healers and Gaius cramped at the middle, supporting the swordsmen.

With his dagger now gone, Robin only had his trusty sword with him. He focused on parrying and blocking the flurry of strikes from the myriads of mercenaries and myrmidons right in front of them. All while dodging the magic bombarded at them from behind their direct range. Arrows flew back and forth from both his back and front, more from the latter but who's counting. He could hear the crackling thunder from above, and the deafening boom of fireballs being launched. Sometimes from his side whenever the zeal of healing magic stopped for a moment. He would picked up Tharja's cold and Henry's ecstatic voices amidst the chaos, followed by a couple of risens dropping dead, or sometimes falling to pieces before disappearing into purple smoke. The Sheperds weren't being pushed hard enough, and neither did the risens.  _Stalemate_. It seemed like their enemies knew what they were doing.

"That's new. Never thought these guys could even think before." Robin said to no one in particular, parrying and dodging the attacks coming his way. The tactician glanced to his left. Lon'qu was mostly in his exact situation, albeit with a killing edge in each hand. Gregor wasn't much different either. He saw the mercenary flipping and somersaulting his way through most of the attacks, and raised his shield a few times.  _Gregor doesn't use shield_. He knew they were at their limits. He could feel the numbness seeping to his fingers, and the arcthunders from Maribelle were becoming less frequent.  _The tactician needed to do something, fast._

"Think Robin, think! You've been in far worse than this." The brunette squeezed his brain for something,  _anything_  to change the tides.

* * *

_Think all you want, we both know what needs to be done. It's time for plan number nine._

"No! There's gotta be some other way."

_If there's any other plan, don't you think you'd find it by now?_

"But…then Gregor…"

_Yes, Gregor. Send him to the front, and most of the melees will be lured to him. He'll survive long enough for you and Lon'qu to break through their defense. Those mages won't stand a chance with you two cutting them from behind. Gaius and Libra, maybe Kellam as well took your places in front, the mages tend to those brutes, everyone live to fight another day. It's a great plan if you ask me._

"B… G-Gregor will…"

_Yes, Gregor will die. But the others will live. You always said, to save a life…_

"One must be prepared to take a life. Of the enemy…"

_Or your own. Yes. Robin, nobody needs to know about it. You've tried your best, now let your friends tried theirs. And besides, don't you want to go back and see her before you die? I know she really misses you right now._

"I…I…"

* * *

"Focus!" A gruff voice snapped the tactician back from his reverie. Robin fell to the ground when a blue silhouette took his place. Clearing his eyes, the brunette gave his surrounding a look. Lon'qu was directly in front of him, parrying the arrows coming towards them. Both of his hands moved gracefully, arcing their way in front of him. Arrows, whole and cut in half started gathering around him.

"Wanna lend us a hand, handsome? I can't focus on healing here." Robin moved his gaze towards the source. Anna was now in the swordmaster's place, parrying and blocking the attacks from some risen warriors. Robin reached out to his sword, trying to get back up when his peripheral vision caught a glowing orb coming their way, its shine growing stronger and tenser with every second and it headed straight towards the redheaded quartermaster.

"Anna!" Robin shouted as loud as he could, practically lunging towards the trickster. Anna somehow managed to react just in time, blocking the fireball with her Levin sword, but got knocked to the ground from the momentum. A warrior now in front of her, raising his silver axe above his head sending a radiant glares back to the sky.

"No, no, no…This isn't supposed to happen…Come on Robin…One more step…" The tactician talked to himself, trying to get in between the Sheperd and her assailant, praying to whatever he could think of he'd made it.

"Allow me." Never before was he glad at hearing  _that_  voice. Robin looked in front of him to see an arrow pierced the warrior's hand, making him dropped his axe. Without a moment to spare another arrow came flying towards his chest. He dropped to his knees, dissolving to purple smoke moments after. The tactician took the chance to sled himself in front of the redhead, making sure no other attack would come near her. Anna took her Levin sword and get back to her original position.

_Huh. Didn't see that one coming. Number eight it is then. See ya._

* * *

"Virion, back, now! Cherche, Lon'qu, kill the rangers! Gaius, get over here!" Robin shouted, not even looking at the newcomers. This was the time he'd been waiting for. Time the flow of battle changed yet again.  _Time the scale tipped back in their favor_.

He could hear the flapping of wings coming right at him, and soon engulfed by the black shadow of the thing over him. Lon'qu sheathed the sword in his left hand and jumped as high as he could, catching the wyvern's talon. Dangling from the flying beast, he hovered towards the line of enemies in front of him. With one swing, he cleaved the head of the berserker right in front of him, before continuing their journey towards enemy lines.

With Lon'qu and Cherche taking care of the risens in the back, their enemies were in disarray at the shift. Amidst the confusion, Gaius had also managed to push his way through the wall of melee fighters, cutting down his fair share of mages and archers. Robin and Gregor were now standing shoulder to shoulder keeping the enemies from closing in on their own mages. Anna, Henry and Tharja would deal most of the finishing blow on the risens, while Libra and Maribelle would make sure everyone was alive. Kellam had now advancing a few steps forward, covering for his wife and the  _archest of archer_ , whilst still keeping the bridge in his line of defense.

* * *

With their new advantage, it didn't take long for the Sheperds to break free from their stalemate. All the risens had been taken care of, and Robin was lying on the ground, soaking the feel of the grass on his back and behind his head, staring into the sky above. His breathing finally returned to normal after a while. The other Sheperds were mostly tending to their wounds or scanning the area just to be safe. He closed his eyes, finally feeling the calming breeze after the battle.

"Lord Robin…" Cherche's voice woke him up from his slumber. He raised his head, slightly turning to see the wyvern lord and the noble archer, standing beside him.

"If you two are here, it means something's happening in Valm. Something big, I suppose?" Robin muttered dryly to the two Roseanne nobles now blocking his face from the glimmering sun. Cherche moved her head up and down, acknowledging the tactician's guess. Robin's eyes caught her left thumb fiddling with the ring on her third finger, an exact copy of the ring currently on the blue-headed archer's. He let out and audible sigh, before proceeding to stand up, fixing his sword on his right hip.

"Come on, guys. Let's… go get Cordelia and the others and go home." The brunette said to his friends, walking slowly along the mudded path.


	6. Paths part I

Robin was sitting alone in his room at the barrack, with dead eyes staring at his hands. The low-pitched sound of grinding metal could be heard, on and on, continuing with no sign of stopping. The brunette's left hand was supporting his trusty sword, resting it on his lap while his right hand hovered up and down the blade with what seems to be wool made of steel. Up and down, up and down it went. With every stroke, Robin could see the shine gradually coming back to the blade. After some time, he flipped the sword over and repeated the same motion, over and over again. He then picked up the steel, bringing the blade in front of him. He lightly traced his fingers along the edge, checking for any nick and dent. Satisfied, he rested it again on his lap, and using his index and middle finger, picked up a small, flat stone lying on a piece of cloth in front of him. Positioning the stone on the blade's edge, he lightly moved the stone between his two fingers up and down again. The sound of grinding metal broke the silence of the room once again. The sun was setting down when he finished with the stone.

"You need something?" Robin abruptly broke his silence, not even looking at the figure standing in front of his door. He took a piece of cloth lying in front of him, dabbed it in some oil, and proceeded to gently rubbing the blade with circular motion.

"Huh, Rook was right. You really do have eyes at the back of your head. Either that, or I should quit my job." The tactician let out a small chuckle hearing the answer from his orange-headed friend. His hands still moving up and down his sword, making sure no place left untouched by the oil.

"Listen, Bubbles. About Valm…" The sweet-toothed thief started, before Robin cut him off completely.

"Forget it Gaius. I've made up my mind. And besides, you're going to be a father. You should be here with your wife instead of me half a world away." Reading Gaius mind, the tactician reasoned with the thief, now picking up a new cloth and slowly wiping the blade, ridding it from excess oil.

"I know, but… _sigh_. I'm just gonna be honest with you. I…don't know if I even have the right to be with someone, much less a husband and a father. I'm a thief, Robin. At least when I follow you, I have the chance to be more. Someone they would be proud of, even if I…" Hearing the thief's confession, Robin let out an audible sigh, bringing the blade of his sword in front of him once more. Eyeing his friend's reflection on the steel, he could see Gaius was also looking at him. Both men were staring at each other through the blade for some time, before the tactician decided to break the silence.

"Gaius, you're one of the most honest men I know, who happen to possess some skills a thief finds useful. Nothing to be ashamed of, use what you have they always said. And besides, ever since you joined us, you've done enough good to pay back for your past self. With interest I might add." Robin reached for the sword's scabbard and started sheathing the blade. Ensuring the sword was secured in its place, the brunette turned to face the orange-haired thief. "You saved my life. That counts for something."

"I…guess you're right. As always." Gaius smiled dryly hearing the tactician's response. He took out a lollipop from one of his pockets, and put it in his mouth. " _Sigh_. What if I'm not ready to be a father?" He continued, making his way to Robin's bed, and planted himself on it.

"Gaius, let me tell you one of the world's oldest rules.  _No one's ready to be a parent_. When the time comes, they just…stepped up." Robin answered, leaning his sword on the foot of the bed and proceed to sit beside his friend. "You're gonna be a great father." He assured the thief, placing his right hand on his shoulder. Gaius gave him a warm smile for the encouragement. "Think of a name yet?"

Gaius just nodded to his friend, grinning from ear to ear. "Sophia for a girl, and Inigo for a boy."

"Inigo, huh? Good name." Robin nodded, giving his approval. "I knew an Inigo. Swell guy. Great swordsman. You should teach him swordplay if you have the chance." He added.

"I don't know Robin. That would be up to his mother though. She always says she wants the freedom of choice in the kids' palm. A girl can be knight, and a boy can be a dancer if they wanted to." Gaius answered lightly, smiling. Hearing the thief's remark, Robin couldn't help but smile as well.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock from the entrance direction. Both men looked at the unclosed door to see a certain red-haired knight poking her head at the door.

"You called?" Cordelia asked, looking at Robin's eyes. Gaius stood up and gave the falcon knight a smile before leaving the two tacticians alone.

Robin motioned for the knight to enter, which she obliged. "My desk." He said, short.

Cordelia made her way to the desk and found a book on it. On the outside, nothing about the book really screamed value to a first time looker. It didn't look like a book from the oldest archive in the world, nor a rare tome sought after by the most willing and capable. It was just a run-of-the-mill leather bound book you could found anywhere. Judging by the worn out cover and the edges of the page jutting out from all side, you could say it was in the last stage of its life. Most people would throw it away in favor of a new one, not just for the look, but for the functionality as well. A book that worn couldn't possibly hold anything reliably. Of course, Cordelia wasn't most people. In fact, any Sheperd wouldn't dream of throwing the book for even an instance. The moment when the book would leave the side of its master could be count on one hand. Of which it would be in the falcon knight's. Cordelia knew exactly what the book was on first glance.  _Robin's Ledger_. She reached her hand towards the book, tracing the edge of the cover with her fingers.

"I won't be needing it anymore." The brunette's voice broke Cordelia from her thought. She turned to face the tactician, and saw him smiling, pointing his finger to his temple. "I got what I need in here." She brought the book to her chest, hugging it with both hands.

"Are you sure they're the only ones you need? At least take Tharja and Henry as well." Cordelia questioned the man. The tactician moved his head up and down to her suggestion, smiling.

"If it were up to me, I'd just go with Cherche and Virion. You'll be needing them here more than I do. Keep an eye on the border. They've been awfully quiet since last time." Robin said.

"If you say so. Just…be careful okay? All of you." Knowing how stubborn the man is when he made up his mind, Cordelia pleaded one more time.

"Always." Robin answered, short. "Don't worry. It won't be just us you know. Say'ri and Lady Tiki would be waiting for us. And Al and El would be there too." He assured the falcon knight standing in front of him.

"And Priam too." Cordelia added, now smiling, finally ridding the concern look on her face.

"Of course there'll be Priam as well. Won't be fun without him." Robin uttered, also smiling for a moment before changing back to his serious expression. "Say…could you do me a favor and go through the inventory with Anna tonight. I…need to be somewhere else…" He asked the woman.

"Sure." The scarlet-haired woman said without thinking even for a moment. She gave him another smile before turning her back to him and made her way to the door, squeezing the book on her chest tighter as she walked, like it would fly away if she didn't.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._  Robin lightly put his knuckles against the oak door, waiting for it to open. That's strange. A rustling sound, and maybe faint giggles could be heard coming from the small house. He tried knocking some more. Once, twice, thrice, he knocked on the door. Still nothing. Flustered, Robin let out a sigh and took out his purse. He inserted his index and middle finger into the small pouch, feeling the inside. Amidst the round, flat metal flakes, Robin managed to find what he was looking for. A small, hard pole. He took it out and proceeded to insert it into the hole roughly at the center-right of the door. He twisted it lightly and heard a clicking sound and pushed the door slowly. The brightness of the room blinded his eyes for a moment. The rustling and giggles could be heard clearly now. Robin smiled and took a step in, closing the door.

"What are you still doing in there? Get out now before you become a prune!" Robin could hear the voice of a woman coming from the other side of the room, followed by the giggling of a child. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you? Let's get you into something dry before you catch a cold oka…Hey!" The voice added, followed by another long giggles. Robin was smiling from ear to ear at the two sets of voice. The giggles, along with small pattering of steps were becoming louder,  _closer_  to him. A young girl, with a white towel wrapped around her small body came running from the back, followed by a woman in her mid-forties holding a night gown. A  _small, child-size night gown_. "Young lady! Get over here or I will tickle you before you go to bed tonight. I mean i…" Both stopped in their footsteps at the sight of the tactician standing,  _smiling_  in the center of the living room.

"Need some help?" Robin asked lightly, with the smile still on his face.

The young girl's eyes sparkled upon seeing the man. "Daddy?" She uttered, before darting towards Robin, skillfully dodging the chairs, table, and what looked to be small, wooden teacups and plates lying on the floor. Robin lowered himself, extending both his arms waiting for the girl. Her momentum almost pushed him backwards. The tactician walked slowly towards the woman, his giggling daughter in his arms. With a sigh of relief, she handed him the dress she was holding, and they both nodded to each other before she went back to where she came from. Robin gave the piece of clothing to the girl, which she took, and made his way to one of the rooms in the house.

Somehow, the tactician managed to get the ball of energy to calm down enough to put her in the dress and brushed her hair. He was now holding the girl, rustling her long, straight hair gently while she rested her chin on his left shoulder. Slowly rocking the upper half of his body, he "spun" around, making a wide arc moving across the room, humming. His steps moved in unison with the melody.  _One, two, three. One, two, three._  He would smile fondly whenever she nuzzled her nose on his neck.

"Daddy?" She broke her silence.

"Yes honey?" Robin stopped his humming, still moving slowly around the room.

"Will you be here tomorrow too? What about mommy?"

Robin gritted his teeth and wince his eyes hearing the question. He kissed the side of her head, resulting in a giggle from her. "I'm sorry, princess. I wish I could."

"I see. Okay then…" She answered weakly. "Mother Erika said if I eat and play and sleep and be a good girl, you'll be back for me.  _Both of you_."

Robin pulled his daughter back slightly, gazing into her hazel eyes, conjuring up the warmest smile he could. "Do you wanna know a secret?" The little girl moved her head up and down slowly. "This will be the last time. You listen to Mother Erika and we'll both be back in no time.  _For good_." The tactician could've sworn stars had begun to form in his daughter's eyes hearing his words.

"Promise?" She asked excitedly.

"Promise." Robin answered before kissing her forehead. He gently pushed the back of her head towards him, and she planted her chin on his shoulder once again. Robin went back to humming the melody in unison with his step.  _One, two, three. One, two, three._  He moved, not missing a beat.


	7. Paths part II

"Aaaand, that's it!" Anna remarked, her eyes shifting from the notebook in her hands and the two Sheperds putting some wooden crates and a couple of bags into a wagon. "That'll be five hundred gold, good sir." She added, smiling to the brown-haired man lightly huffing before her.

"Really? It's the end of the world, and you're charging us,  _your comrades_ , for a bunch of everyday supplies?" Robin retorted, not even bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Oh, no. The supplies are on the house. I'm charging  _you_  for your  _new_  shield."

"Five hundred for a slab of steel you tied to your hand?" Robin practically screamed to the woman in front of him.

"Damascus steel, mind you. And do you know how many Annas I had to ask to get it here? It's a steal at that price."

"It's a rip-off!"

"It's supply and demand."

Robin's right eye twitched hearing the counter from the merchant. Naga helps who have the guts to marry her. "Fine. Put it on my t…" Letting out a loud sigh, Robin reluctantly agreed, before his words were cut off by her.

"Way ahead of you." Anna said, showing her notebook to Robin, and patted its cover. Her smile never left her face. Robin rolled his eyes at the sight.

"Well, we're off now." The brown-haired tactician said, catching the attention of the three women standing in front of the castle's gate. They slowly made their way to the man standing in front of the cart.

"Are you sure you don't need maybe one or two more of us? I'm pretty sure Vaike and Miriel won't mind going with you if you asked them." Sumia said with a concern voice to the tactician. No, Vaike and Miriel definitely won't mind coming along to Valm. In fact, all of the able Sheperds volunteered for the campaign when Robin himself refused them and picked the ones to accompany him to Valm along with Virion and Cherche.

Robin smiled at the Queen's words. "Now where did I hear that before?" He asked nonchalantly resulting in a confused look from Sumia and her sister-in-law. Robin gave each of them a quick hug before moving to face the third woman.

"Here." Robin took off his cloak and draped it on her shoulders. His gesture was answered with a baffled look from her. "Now you won't look so weird standing in front of them. Hopefully." He jokingly added, gently lifting her crimson locks out of the cloak and stroking them down her back. "Any last words?" Robin's last jokes got him a frown from the knight.

"Just…be careful, okay?" Robin smiled at her words before giving her a hug.

"Time to go." Lon'qu's gruff voice broke them apart.

Robin turned around to see the swordmaster standing behind him. Noticing Gregor and Libra already took their place on another cart he waved to the four women, Anna now joining them, and proceeded to walk to the front of his cart.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?"

Robin froze in his steps. "Driving the cart, like I always did?" Robin answered, again turning around to face his friend.

"Have you looked into a mirror lately?" Robin's mouth went agape and confusion started to decorate his face hearing the question from the Chon'sinese.

"When was the last time you sleep?" Lon'qu asked another question, motioning to the back of the cart.

"That's…actually a good idea." The tactician said, walking to his friend and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, friend." He whispered to the man, before making his way to the back of the cart. He gave another smile to the women still in the vicinity and went inside.

Lon'qu climbed the front of the wagon and held the reign in his hands. He gave a nod to the four women, and tugged the leather strip making the cart started moving, slowly. Gregor did the same with the other cart.

Inside the cart, Robin somehow managed to find enough area to sit. Resting his back against the boxes, he tried relaxing his body. Ever since that day, he dreaded going to sleep. He'd try avoiding it for as much as he could, which usually involved him staying up most nights, compiling his tactics in his ledger, or going through the inventory,  _again and again_. With nothing to do, he just sat there waiting for when the cart would stop moving. The slowly rocking cart made him relax more than he'd like, and he could feel his eyelids were becoming heavier and heavier. Before long, his breathings slowed down, and eyelids shut completely.

* * *

Every time, always the same sight. He'd be standing in a plain, with no end in sight. Swords were scattered and sticking everywhere around him. "Again?" Robin sighed, making his way through the field. Yet this time, something was different. It was silent. Eyeing the surrounding and himself, he noticed he was wearing his old cloak again. The sun was directly above his head, and yet it was as cold as night. Without his voice to guide him, nor a way to know his bearing, Robin picked a direction and walked, changing his course on a whim. After what seemed to be hours of mindless pacing, Robin slowed down before finally stopping in his steps. This place felt familiar. Gazing upon his surrounding, he could see he was standing on an elevated part of the field. And yet the end of field was still invisible to him. Only a patch of green decorated with the sheen of steel could be seen. The grave of swords made the horizon looked jagged to his eyes. As weird and unnatural as it was, Robin couldn't help but felt a sense of awe and wonder at the view. What happened here?

" _Hello."_ A familiar voice broke him out from his reverie. Robin turned around to see himself standing behind him, smiling.

"You!" Robin snarled, grabbing the sword closest to him and pointing it at, well,  _Robin_.

" _Peace, friend. I'm just here to talk." Robin_  pleaded to the tactician, showing both of his palms in front of him.  _"Why don't you have a seat?"_  He motioned his right hand to the side.

Robin could see two rocks had formed out of nowhere beside him and his visitor. Without breaking his line of sight, he slowly planted himself on the rock and rested the sword on his lap, his right hand still gripping the hilt tightly. "Where is she?"

_Robin_  sat still for a few moments, smiling slyly.  _"Robin, you know exactly where she is. Didn't you just saw her the other day?"_  He answered, shifting his gaze from the Robin's eyes and the tip of the blade.  _"And if you're asking about the…visions you saw on your trips before, then I assure you this place have nothing to do with her. Those were just japes on my part, and I am very sorry if you're offended by that."_  Smiling, he put his right palm on his left chest, and gave a bow.

"What…is this place? And who are you?" Robin asked, still not wanting to let his guard down.

" _Who am I? I'm you. Or rather, you're me. Heh. You're going to be me. And this place? This is our shared…conscious."_  He answered vaguely, pointing both his hands to the surrounding, eyeing the tactician's reaction.  _"You know, Robin. I've been wondering, searching, waiting for you for a very long time."_  He added, looking straight at the man holding the sword sitting in front of him.

"I'm going to be you? What's that suppose to mean? What do you want?" Frustrated at the dubious claims, Robin sprung from his seat, again pointing his blade to the  _other Robin_.

" _In due time, friend. In due time." Robin_  touched the tip of the blade directly before his face and lowered it slowly.  _"And what I want is unimportant. I'm here to grant what you want."_  He added, pointing his index finger towards Robin.

Baffled, Robin reluctantly took his seat one more time.

" _Tell me, what is your deepest desire? Wealth? No, of course not. Love, perhaps?"_ He asked, rather uninterestingly. Smirking, he continued.  _"Power. Power to fight. Power to protect. Join me, and I will grant you power, greater than you'll ever imagine. All that I ask in return, is your past for your, our future."_  He extended his right palm towards Robin.

Robin contracted his eyebrows in bewilderment. "My…past? What're you t…"

Robin's words were cut short when  _Robin_  stood up from his seat, raising his hand towards him.

" _Oh, dear. Time really flies when you're having fun. Be seeing you then."_  He remarked rather nonchalantly.

"Hey, wai…" Robin stretched his left hand trying to stop the man.

* * *

A bright light blinded his eyes as soon as he opened them. Cursing under his breath, Robin slowly opened his eyes once more. He could make out the supply boxes and the wall of a cart. Lon'qu was sitting in front of him, right hand on his shoulder. "We're here." The swordmaster said concisely, which Robin answered with a nod. He took his sword and shield and proceeded to get out of the cart.

"Took you long enough." They were greeted by the East Khan, with Virion and Cherche standing behind her at the front door of the castle. Robin had sent the two Rosannese a few days earlier to alert the Feroxi about their arrival. The dark-skinned woman motioned to the carts with her finger, and two of the guards standing at the gate swiftly moved and took the carts from Lon'qu and Gregor. She gave Robin a hug before motioning for them to follow her. The newly arrived Sheperds tagged along with her inside the building. Time for another meeting.

* * *

It was decided for the Sheperds along with a few Feroxi warriors to head for Valm early in the morning. Robin was standing alone against the table of the war room, eyes dead set on some maps in front of him. A knock from the entrance broke him from his thoughts. He turned to the direction to see the East Khan standing at the door, holding two mugs in both hands. Robin noticed the whitish steam rising from them and smiled to the blonde woman, silently thanking her.

Flavia paced through the room and handed Robin a mug. Clanking the two tankards, she took a sip from hers. "You're still here. Why am I not surprised?" Resting her hip on the table's edge, she silently glanced at the maps.

Sitting on a chair near the table, Robin took a swig from the mug in his right hand. Savoring the taste, he let the liquid doused his dry throat. Fruit brandy. He could feel his body relaxing and slouched even further in his seat. "You know, just burning the midnight oil. Can't have the East Khan fell on my watch too, or the Feroxis will want my head rolling."

"Hah, that's rich coming from you. And besides, I'm not the Khan anymore." Seeing the confused look on Robin's face, Flavia took another gulp and continued. "Didn't you hear? There're new East and West Khans in town. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're the one that convinced him to take the oaf's place." She retorted in between sips.

Robin's demeanor rapidly changed from that of confusion to a lighthearted smile. Raising his mug, he clanked it with Flavia's. Taking another sip, he rested the back of his head against the chair, closing his eyes. His thoughts were interrupted by yet another knock. The brunette and the blonde turned their heads toward the entrance almost simultaneously.

"Your excellency, all the preparations are complete. We should be able to proceed according to schedule." A woman clad in heavy armor reported, giving them a slight bow.

"Thank you, Raimi." Flavia muttered to her. "And for the last time, stop it with the excellency bits. In fact, I should be the one calling you that,  _your excellency_." Flavia added with a playful smirk on her face.

Robin could've sworn the knight was blushing. "P-please, Khan Flavia. No need for that. After all you've done for me, how am I ever going to repay you?"

"I was just joking, Raimi. You'll need to lighten up if you're going to sit on the rock bench for a long time." The former Khan said, raising her mug to her successor. "And what about you? I trust your time amongst the Sheperds at least nulled your…condition for a bit?" She asked shifting her eyes to the man stood silently beside the Feroxi knight.

"Enough to do my job." Lon'qu answered briefly.

"Good. At least I can leave knowing Ferox's in good hands."

"Well, then." Robin stood up and raised his mug. "Here's to a new beginning."

_However brief it may be._

Flavia also raised her tankard and clanked it with Robin's once more. Both of them finished the content with one gulp. Lon'qu and Raimi gave both of them a slight bow, and backed out of the room, leaving the tactician and the hero.

"Don't stay up too late. We have an early start tomorrow. Can't have the tactician missed his ship from overslept can we?" Flavia took the empty mug from Robin's hand, and proceeded to move out of the room, leaving the brunette alone once more.

Robin gave her a weak smile before slouching into his seat again. He took a deep breath and closed his eyelids.

* * *

The sun had just started to show his face to world, dyeing the sky with an amber glow. Robin and his comrades were at the Port Ferox, accompanied by the new Khans. Virion was already in the crow's nest, waving to the ranks of Feroxian soldiers at the port. Minerva was comfortably sleeping at the back, with Cherche gently caressing her head. Gregor and Libra were talking to each other at the bow, and Flavia was mouthing something to one of the warriors accompanying them. Robin felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Lon'qu, with his right hand extended to him. He firmly shook the swordmaster's palm, both smiling at each other.

"Anytime you're ready sir." Robin heard the captain shouting from behind him. He gave a nod to Lon'qu and Raimi, and gave the surrounding in front of him another gaze. He silently climbed his way to the deck, giving the man at the wheel a nod. Next stop, Valm.


	8. Where Gods Fear to Tread

"Lord Priam!" She shouted, getting the attention of the burly man at the forefront of their rank, engaging three risen axe-wielders. "We're too focused in one spot. We need to spread out, or risk getting surrounded." She added while rising her staff and dispersing a wide area healing magic to her allies.

"I don't know if you've noticed, princess…" Priam pushed two of his attackers to the side with his shield before kicking the one directly in front him, sending him flying away, connecting him with a boulder way back in the other direction. "…but we're not exactly in a number to  _be_ spreading out." He retorted, setting his gaze upon the other two berserkers. He swung his sword to the down left of his body, cleaving both undead in one motion.

"I know." She answered, dodging the occasional arrow that come flying at her. She pulled her own magical tome and released a lightning bolt towards one of the archers. "But we're sitting ducks like this. Everything'll be over if one of those mages packed Bolganone, or worse, Goetia." Dodging a surge of arcfire, she hauled another lightning bolt, this time to a hero inching towards her.

"All right boys! You heard the princess! Open up!" Priam shouted, instructing his band of mercenaries. Like a well-oiled contraption, the group of soldiers spread out from their initial position, giving their attention not to hinder each other. They ended up with the classic formation for maximizing the effective range of a force, without sacrificing too much defense.

"Alright, show'em what we're made of!" Leading the melee fighters, Priam shouted, happily charging into the fray before them, just enough to be in the effective range of their healers. Beside him, soldiers and fighters wearing all sorts of armors were on their last breath, making sure none of the risens managed to puncture through their defense line. "That's it. Don't let even one pass through, or there'll be hell to pay!"

"Keep it up everyone. Just until sister and Lady Eleanor arrive." The female sage cheered her fellow comrades, dancing between healing and attacking with her staff and tome. Lightly panting for air, she could feel her focus started to drop. Then all of a sudden, something lunged at her and pushed her to ground. Her tome and staff tossed aside, and her feet were pinned by something. Gaining back her senses, she saw a soldier was lying on her thighs, with burned marks all over him. His leather armor was all but gone, and his exposed skin was charred black as coal. In the distance, a tome-wielder was charging a spell. She could see the ember forming in his hand, getting bigger with every moment. She could already feel the heat on her skin. Realizing what was going to happen, she struggled to get free, pushing and jerking the body on her. At last, the ember stopped expanding. The risen lobbed it to her direction, and the shape was getting clearer and clearer to her. It seems like Priam was yelling something to her, but she just couldn't get her eyes off of the ball of fire flying towards her. She started breathing erratically, clenching her teeth and closing her eyes for what to come.  _Is this it?_

"Kay'ri!" A familiar voice snapped her from her trance. She opened her eyes and saw a pink dragon in front of her, and a familiar face,  _hers_ , on top of it.

"Sister, Lady Tiki…" She exhaled a breath she didn't even knew she held.

Tiki hauled a dragon breath at the risen, incinerating him instantly while Say'ri jumped down and moved the body from her.

"Are you all right? Is it done?" Grabbing the hand extended to her, Kay'ri shot the swordswoman a question.

"That's _my_  question." The Queen of Chon'sin helped the sage to her feet. Around them, Priam and his soldiers had formed a defense line, with Naga's daughter in the middle. "We're done here! Prepare for retreat, now!" Say'ri shouted to the men in front of her.

"We would if we could! But we need to at least rid of these guys first!" Priam shouted back, blocking, parrying, and thrusting his sword Ragnell at the horde before him.

"Fie! Keep at it then. My troops should arrive soon. And Eleanor's too." Unsheathing her golden sword, she rushed beside the pink dragon, unleashing a flurry of slashes onto the risen inching towards her. Before long, some of the risens started falling to the ground, with burnt marks and arrows on their backs.

"Hah, about time! Here comes the cavalry." Priam remarked, leading his band of mercenaries into the horde of risens once more, while the soldiers from Chon'sin thinned the herd from the back. The combined force of the Valmese soldiers led by the Radiant Mercenary and the legion of Chon'sinese warriors somehow managed to get their adversaries to a more manageable numbers. Their tactician, Kay'ri was again instructing her allies, when an ear-piercing shriek halted their skirmish. Time seemed to stop while both the humans and risens were eyeing their surroundings.

A loud gasp from one of Say'ri's swordsman broke the stilled air. All eyes hunted for the origin to see him clutching onto a javelin jutting out of his chest. Four dots, one bigger than the rest on the sky behind the Chon'sinese sent a chill down the sage's spine. Cold sweat began forming on her temples.

_He's here_. "He's here! Everyone, fall back! Chon'sin warriors, spread out!" Kay'ri shouted to her comrades from the top of her lungs. Priam, along with Say'ri and the other melee fighter were cutting down the risens before them. Tiki was hauling her dragon breath left and right to reduce their numbers. The band of Chon'sinese soldiers were fanning out, with one or two archers aiming at the sky. But it was all too late. The wyvern riders had arrived.

Javelins launched, piercing, and  _pinning_  anyone to the ground. Wyvern fires bombarded the earth along with the unlucky souls still roaming the patch of lands. The livings would roll over on the scorched field, screaming and wailing in agony. One of the riders even swooped down to attack at close range, making sure each hits count. Separated by a flock of risens charging on them, the Valmese soldiers watched in horror as their counterparts drowned in a sea of fire, while javelins and pikes rained upon them. Whoever said there's only one angel of death was clearly talking out of his rear.

The smells of burnt flesh and rotting corpse polluting the air were ignored completely, in favor of the raw, burning desire to live. Priam and his warriors were preserving their bulwark, while Kay'ri and the other mages were casting shield magic, giving some needed breathing room to the group. Slowly, but surely, they were retreating.

Up above, Say'ri and Tiki were having a showdown of their own with the leader of the riders, casting shades of black, jagged wings on the sod. Both the pink dragon and the black wyvern were soaring, gliding through the sky, getting in and out of range of each other. The  _dance_  of the winged creatures was ironically graceful and majestic, as if a vignette cut out of fairytales or songs of old. Clanking sound of metals colliding with each other broke the whooshing of the wings whenever the pink and red-and-black blurs would get close to each other. Their stalemate stopped when the wyvern lord, clearly the better one at aerial combat decided to end their waltz. With a tug on the reign and a light kick of the saddle, he skillfully directed the beast, clad in heavy armor just like its rider, to dodge Tiki's strike, before biting her right wing. The rouge dragon let out a deafening scream, simultaneously plummeting to the ground.

"No! Lady Tiki!" Say'ri cried, zeroing in on the Voice of Naga from where she met the ground, ignoring the sharp pain on her leg. Losing her consciousness, the manakete reverted back to her human form, a deep gash clearly visible on her right shoulder. The swordswoman let out an audible sigh after conforming her friend's breathing.

"Sister!" Her twin's shout pulled the Chon'sinese back to her surroundings. Raising her head, she could see the wyvern lord was now grounded, walking slowly towards her, ignoring the fiery soil. His black, charred armor clanking against each other sent a jolt to her heart with every step. His dark skin and jet black hair never changed from when he raised his lance alongside them. His eyes were glowing with a deep red tint, and a red aura steadily pulsating from his lanky frame reminded her of the tactician from Ylisse. Seeing him raising his brave lance, Say'ri pulled out Amatsu from its scabbard, raising it in front of her.

"No!" Witnessing the unfolding scene, Kay'ri was ready to rushed towards her sister, when Priam's words stopped her.

"Stop it, princess. We can't afford to break formation now!" The man's raspy voice halted her steps.

"B-but…" She gritted her teeth and readied herself for what was going take place, when she noticed a greenish light started enveloping her sister and the shape-shifter, completely oblivious to the same thing happening to her group.

Adjusting her eyes from the blinding light, Kay'ri noticed her surroundings had changed, and an ample distance was formed between her and the risens. The members of her group scattered around her. Another sage was tending Tiki's shoulder, while her sister was holding the manakete in her arms. She turned her sight sideways to see a one-handed male sage holding a rescue staff in his left hand, eyes straight on the battlefield in front of them. His ruby eyes sent a tingling feel down her spine, and the red aura evenly pulsating from his body felt cold on her skin, even with the fire raging before them.  _Sir Lazlo._

"Archers!" A taut voice of a woman from her back snapped her back from her reverie. She turned around to see a tall woman donning chainmail and plate armor behind her. Her long, blonde hair was flowing trailing the wind, and her emerald-like green eyes were fixed on the wyvern lord from earlier.  _Lady Eleanor_. With her signal, a group of ten archers unleashed a barrage of arrows to the sky, clipping the wyverns' wings, keeping the riders from closing on them. "Go, now!" She ordered, to which they obeyed, retreating alongside their iron-clad counterparts from Ashborne.

Eleanor was still standing in her spot when the last of the soldiers leaved her, sharing a gaze with the wyvern lord in the distance. Her senses came back to her when Lazlo touch her shoulder. She turned around to see the sage looking at her, irises back to their usual light brown. They both nodded to each other and made their way to their comrades, after the woman looked at the lord behind her for one last time.  _Hurry up, Robin. Your brother needs you._

* * *

Ten days had passed since their skirmish on the Chon'sin and Valm border, most of the soldiers were now back on their daily routine of patrolling and training. Princess Kay'ri was sitting under a tree in Ashborne Castle, the capital of a country on the west end of the continent, with the ocean behind her and a neighbor to Roseanne. A map was spread on a table in front of her with rounded lines, big and small, along with arrows from all direction could be seen on it.

"No, that's not it." She murmured to herself, not noticing the silhouette of a certain mercenary closing in on her. "Think, Kay'ri think. Wonder what would Master Robin do?"

"If it's Robin you're wondering about, why don't you ask him yourself then?" Priam's raspy voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Eeeep…" She let out a squeal before turning her head to the voice. "L-Lord Priam, I'm very sorry. I did not see you coming." Kay'ri could feel the heat creeping on her face.

"Please, princess. That should be my line. I'm very sorry for scaring you like that."

Still flustered, the black-haired sage averted her eyes from the smiling mercenary, and continued. "I-it's fine. Anyway, about Master Robin…"

"Right. Virion and Cherche had arrived earlier. Robin should land first thing tomorrow morning. I presume the queen is here as well?"

"Yes. Sister and Lady Tiki should still be with Lady Eleanor in the war council room. I was just…clearing my head." Kay'ri answered, and for some reason her voice was softer than she'd liked. "If you would follow me." She said, finally making an eye-contact with the burly man. Priam just smiled and extended his hand in her direction.

* * *

Just as reported by the Roseanne nobles, Robin and the Ylissean Sheperds had arrived early the next morning. They were briefed by the Chon'sinese tactician about the situation, and are now gathered in the war council room. Robin, along with Flavia, Eleanor, and the two Chon'sin princesses were standing near a table at the center of the room, looking on the map laid on it. Priam was resting his back against the wall, crossing his arms, looking at the heads discussing on the table. Tiki seemed to be sleeping on three chairs lined together making a makeshift bed.

"Just so we're clear…" Robin said, his index finger trailing the map and stop at a big round line surrounding half of Ashborne on the map. "Most of the survivors from the four kingdoms are already gathered here in Ashborne."

"Yes. This way, unless there's a sea-monster attacking from our rear, we could, and should focus our defense on the front." Eleanor answered the tactician, lightly tapping the oaken table. This was followed by a nod from the Chon'sinese twins.

"And we have three hordes of risens ready to knock on our door any moments now." He raised his head to look on his friends in the room. "Warlhart's from the North-East, Yen'fay's from the South, and Alphonse's from the East." As if counting his choice, he raised his fingers one by one, showing them to his allies. A chilled silence plagued the room as soon as the brunette finished his words. Time seemed stopped for the people in the room, until Robin's sigh broke the silence.  _This is going to be a very long night._


	9. The Three Kings part I

*Yawn* Robin yawned, tilting his head slightly to the left, flexing both his hands, temporarily releasing the leather reign in his grasp.

"You alright?" Lazlo asked, eyeing the man sitting beside him at the front of the cart with the corner of his eyes.

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all." The tactician let out another yawn, grabbing the strip of leather in his hands.

"Sure you can fight today? I'm not asking for you to be in your peak, but still…"

"Please. You of all people should know I've jumped into action much worse than this. I'll be fine." Robin answered the sage rather nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on the muddy road in front of him, not realizing the steady hooves of a horse closing in on his other side.

"That's good to hear." The green-eyed rider let her presence known to the men. With her steed steadily galloping alongside the cart, she added, "Can't have you dropping dead on us now. I don't know what I'll be telling him if we lost you as well."

Robin chuckled hearing the woman's words. "So when will you be telling me?" He asked, turning his head to face the woman. "About how he died."

Eleanor and Lazlo shared a look at the tactician's question, keeping their silence for a very noticeable moment.

"He didn't." Lazlo's answer set Robin to furrow his brows. "Not in front of us."

"After the last campaign, we had to deal with the usual stuff. You know, rebuilding and all, with the occasional attack from The Conqueror's loyalists… and some risen problems." Eleanor opened, staring at the road in front of them. "Nothing major initially, just small skirmishes here and there, until Warlhart and Yen'fay, well, rose again. That's when we sent Virion and Cherche to get you." She paused, letting out a faint sigh before continuing. "And for some reason, they were, different this time around."

"What do you mean different?"

"Different tactics, different formation, everything. Seem like only their skins were the same. I'm telling you, there're like, different  _persons_  underneath." Lazlo's answer again made Robin push his brows together. He shifted his eyes to the woman riding beside him. Eleanor just nodded, confirming the sage's explanation.

"That doesn't make any sense." The tactician argued, "risens lost their minds, sure, but they retain their skills, their quirks from when they were alive, unless…"

"Either they've found themselves a really good tactician, or someone found a way to control them now." Lazlo's words made the tactician's thoughts fly back to his fight with Validar. The risens then weren't as organized as, say, a group of trained soldiers, but they definitely followed the sorcerer's commands. And the skirmishes after that, they were definitely employing some tactics. Very basic and simple ones yes, but definitely things a horde of brainless undeads couldn't come up on their own. Could it be someone else had found the way to lead them?

"Anyway, as one of the few fliers, Alphonse had to go back and forth leading the back up and whatnot, you know… the usual stuff." The green-eyed woman continued, "one day…" she paused, exhaling her breath, "his Ignis went out of control…"

"What else is new? He never did have the best control out the three of us."

"Not this time, not like this." The sage sitting beside Robin claimed. He continued when the tactician turned to face him. "Out of control is an understatement. Went berserk is more like it."

"It's true. Five soldiers died trying to stop him then. He went away shortly after that. We tried to find him, but he just…vanished."

Robin listened to the woman intently.

"No traces of blood, piece of armor, nothing. And with the risens in our backyard, we just couldn't afford to spend the time we didn't have, searching for a man we didn't know alive or not. Next thing we knew, he flanked us when Yen'fay attacked again. We lost half of Chon'sin that day." Robin could hear the tone of regret in the woman's voice.

The tactician rubbed his chin hearing his friend's explanation. "What about you?" He asked the man beside him.

"I'm still thinking clearly if that's what you're asking." Lazlo answered shortly. "For what it's worth, he did seem off prior to that day."

"Off how?"

"More reckless… than usual. And if the bags under his eyes were of any indication, tired with a severe lack of sleep…"

The conversation stopped when they arrive at a clearing, with burnt marks on the ground and charred bodies scattering about. The small dot on the sky, soaring and gliding around in the distance indicated they had arrive at their destination.

"Well, at least we outnumbered him." Robin joked. Lazlo got down from the cart and proceeded to the back of the cart, getting their supplies out. Eleanor turned around to face the other soldiers following them.

"Listen up, listen well!" The female soldier shouted to the rest of her comrades. "Our brother had been fighting his battle for far too long now. Today, we'll get him out of there. Dead or alive, scarred or broken, the Ironwalls of Ashborne will get it done!" She was answered with a powerful rally from her friends.

"You think he brought backup as well?" The male sage asked the tactician.

"After hearing all that, definitely. Most likely fliers as well." Tobin answered his friend, before turning to face the soldiers as well. "Just like we planned! Only Lazlo and I will engage him. Each ranger pair up with a soldier, and watch out for strays from those ridges. Keep them off of our backs. Archers, shoot him out of the sky if he tried to get away. Mages, keep your eyes on your friends first. Everyone spread out. I don't want any of you meddling in our…  _family_ matter."

The other soldiers scattered around as soon as the tactician finished his sentence. Some went hiding in the almost bald bush nearby, some took their spots beside the road in plain sight, some even use their supply cart as a makeshift barrier, all eyes focusing on the sky getting bigger with every breath they took.

Robin turned around again to face Lazlo. "You ready?" He asked.

"Doesn't matter. He'll be here soon enough." The sage answered, raising his good hand, curling his fingers into a fist.

Robin lightly bumped his right fist against Lazlo's left hand. Before long, the shriek of a beast, and whooshing of wings could be heard. Both men turned their head to the source. Their eyes glowed redder than rubies. A deep, dark red aura enveloped their whole body, pulsating with a steady beat.  _Just like the wyvern lord landing in front of them._

* * *

Eleanor watched silently as the three men and a beast started their dance. It was simply exquisite, nothing she ever seen before. No slash left unparried, and no thrust left unblocked, as if they knew what the other would do, even before they'd even moved. A testament to the bond they shared.

The sage would make sure the black wyvern was nowhere close near the two fighters, and the mercenary would block and parry the enemies' advances, keeping their distance from the magician.

The same ringed true for the other party as well. People said a rider and his beast could never be separated, that they'd always move together, and when one died, the other would follow soon after. Apparently, even death couldn't separate the two.

* * *

Unknown to Robin and the others, another party was also watching their engagement. Amidst the ridges fronting them, a band of warriors were eagerly waiting for their chance to strike. Their leader silently observed the clash of steel and fire and magic. Her winged black steed flapped its wings slowly and gracefully, making sure she had enough altitude in her vantage point without exposing their position to the enemy. Slowly, the white-haired woman raised her hand just enough for the risens below her to notice.

Half of the horde started moving at the sight of her hand, while the other just stood there, waiting. A group of five wyverns, two riders on each back came close to her, watching the fight taking place in the distance with great intent.

* * *

"Huh… huh… huh…" Their fight came to a halt for a moment, with all participants panting heavily in silence.

Robin never took his eyes from the wyvern lord and the beast before him. His shield raised slightly in front, covering the vital parts of his body. His steel sword secured tightly in his right hand, while the soothing zeal of healing magic seeped under his skin all the way to his core. Sensing a slight movement from the man and the beast in front of him, the tactician instinctively lowered his body, hiding behind his shield. His knuckles white from gripping his sword, and his right leg numb from all the tension building up in its fibres.

As if acting on cue, the swordsman, the lancer and the wyvern prance on each other all at the same time.

A faint clank could be heard as the lance connected with the shield, just as a loud shriek echoed through the area.

Twisting his forearm, Robin altered the angle of his shield slightly, making use of the opening to break through Alphonse's attack range. The sound of metals grinding against one another, thin and sharp pierced his ears as the shield glided over the metal rod. Stopping directly in front of the wyvern lord, he raised his right hand well above his shoulder, determined to end this once and for all.

With his right hand at the butt-end of his spear and the brown-haired tactician right before him, Alphonse brought his left hand above the other. Gripping it with both hands, he slammed the middle portion of the lance to the side of the man facing him.

"Gah!" Robin groaned from the top of his lungs, falling down sideways. His sword slipped out of his grip, sticking on the ground halfway between him and his "friend". Clenching his left shoulder with his right hand, he stood there for a moment, eyes fixed on the ruby red pools staring right back at him. Kicking the ground with both his feet, he lunged forward once more.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the 'arena', Lazlo was nimbly changing his position and distancing himself from the wyvern. Shooting his thoron spell at the beast, he managed to get it off his friend's back, and making himself the target instead.

Irritated that its target was out of his jaws and claws' reach, the wyvern decided to try a different approach instead. Black smoke puffed out of his nostrils as he pumped out his chest. Tongues of fire crept out from the crack of his jaw as he tilted his head slightly to the back. With a loud roar, he snapped his head back forward hauling its content straight ahead.

Swiftly sidestepping to the right, Lazlo effortlessly dodged the fireball coming at him. The sage just smirked as the reptile let out another ear-piercing screech.  _That's it, eyes on me now!_

* * *

"Fliers dead ahead!" The scream from one of her comrade snapped Eleanor from her reverie. She turned her head to the direction of the voice to see the male archer already started readying his bow.

In the distance, five dots were flying towards them.

Squinting her eyes, the blonde woman could barely make out the jagged wings flapping up and down propelling their enemies.

"Right flank, get ready!" Hearing the order from their female captain, the archers and mages on the right side readied themselves. "We need to get them out Robin's way, on my mark!"

The soldiers of Ashborne stood their ground, waiting for the incoming force. The silhouettes of their enemies became clearer with every passing moment.

Eleanor stayed her focus on the sky in front of her. The clanking of metals and roar of the beast she was listening just now seemed all but gone to her. All she could hear were the steady huffing of her breath, and the flapping of wings coming her way, getting louder every time she exhaled the air stuck in her lungs.

She could clearly see the band of the enemies now. Five black wyverns, with purple smoke puffed out from their snouts, each carrying two riders.

The blonde glanced at Robin and the others still 'dancing' with each other with the corner of her eyes before shifting her sight at the sky once more. She was never one with a tactical mind, but if there was one thing the tactician from Ylisse managed to hammer into her head was that in war, timing is everything. Show your hand too early, your enemy will see right through you, show it too late, and you're dead. She kept changing her sight from her friends on the ground and the inching wyverns so much her head started spinning. Her breathing became heavier and heavier the more she shifted her sight.  _Another fifty paces and the wyverns would be directly above the tactician._

"Now!"


	10. The Three Kings part II

A barrage of arrows flew to the sky almost simultaneously with the woman's voice, creating a perfect arc directly above Robin and Lazlo, making their way to the fliers.

The band of wyverns shifted their direction to the left, dodging the arrows that kept changing alongside them. By the time the volley of arrows slowed down, they were significantly away from their initial target.

"Mages, shoot them off the sky!" The firm voice of the woman echoed through the area once again.

A gust of wind magic surged to the sky at the voice. The risens broke their formation and dispersed at the attack. Three landed on the ground while two kept their altitude.

The Ashborne soldiers, lancers and heroes, rushed the grounded risens while the rangers maintained their attack, making sure the enemies didn't go back to their original target.

Leading the charge, Eleanor zeroed in on one of the grounded wyverns with her partner, a mage closely following her. Before she would be in her attacking range, the wyvern itself decided to take the initiative from her.  _The beast snapped its jaw at her general direction._

Eleanor stabbed the ground directly in front of her, forcing herself to halt abruptly. She stopped just in time before the wyvern's attack connected. The clacking of the beast's teeth sent a shiver down her spine. She gulped down the lump stuck in her throat before assuming a defensive stance. The blonde grasped her brave lance with both her hands, bringing the blunt end close to her body and tucking it under her arm.

One of the riders, a hero, jumped from the back of the wyvern, raising his silver sword above his head in the air.

Eleanor kicked the ground with her left foot, propelling herself backwards just as a golden blur jetted beside her towards the attacker.

The thunder spell hit the risen square in the chest. He cried in pain while falling to the ground. Small orange jolts could be seen running through his body while he quivered on the ground before disappearing into a puff of purple smoke.

Seeing the scene unfolding before him, the wyvern lord launched his own projectile to the female sage.

Eleanor rushed in front of her comrade, parrying the flying rod with her own lance. Not bothering to stop, the female soldier 'glided' away from the mage giving her a clear shot at the beast.

She launched a gust of wind magic at the rider.

Noticing the attack coming his way, the rider tugged the rein of his wyvern turning it sideways. It hit the beast in the left wing, tearing its flaps. It jerked around for a moment, letting out an ear-piercing scream while some thick, purple goo oozed out from the cut.

Realizing her chance, Eleanor brought her right hand above her shoulder. Instinctively aiming and counting her breath, she launched her lance towards the human risen, hitting him dead center on his chest. Not one to waste and opportunity, Eleanor rushed towards the frenzied wyvern once more, pulling out her silver sword from the scabbard on her waist.

The wyvern screamed as she ran her blade through its throat.

"Now!" Eleanor shouted to her friend, immediately distancing herself from the whimpering beast.

Understanding what her captain meant, the female sage changed her tome and charged her spell. Thunder started to cackle in her palm. She launched the golden ball of energy towards the beast, aiming it at the sword protruding from its neck.

The wyvern let out a deafening screech before disappearing into purple smoke.

Finished with her end, Eleanor took the time to catch observe the surrounding while catching her breath. Most of her comrades were 'entertaining' their new guests, but some were lying still on the ground in pools of red liquid.

In the distance, she could see a black wyvern, bigger than the others was engaging a sage and few more. The reddish light enveloping the male caster made him stood out from the rest of her allies.

"Go help the others." The green-eyed woman instructed her comrade before picking up her lance and sword and made her way to one of the red blurs dancing around the battlefield.

* * *

Lazlo cursed under his breath at the turn of event.

"Lazlo!" a shout from his left snapped his focus from the black wyvern before him. He turned around to see a berserker impaled by a very familiar lance. The risen disappeared into a puff of purple smoke revealing a blonde woman dashing towards him.

"I thought Robin said not to intervene." He stated, changing the tome in his left hand to a staff and casted a wide-area healing spell.

"Robin's busy. And last time I check, I'm the leader not him." Eleanor claimed, reaching for her lance sticking on the ground. She rushed past the sage and stopped beside one of her soldier, a hero that was taking the beast's attention. "What do you say we finish this, huh?"

Lazlo smiled at the woman's 'question'. He rushed behind his friends' back, staff at the ready.

With multiple targets now surrounding him, the wyvern seemed to lose his bearing. He'd swing his claws at one of the human closest to him before changing his direction and snap his jaws at another. Countless of arrows pierced his body and both of his wings were unusable. He was panting and purple liquid started to come out of his mouth. The continuous attack by the male sage from earlier had finally managed to break his hide and the female lancer had been poking his left leg enough time he started limping.

The wyvern let out a scream before lunging at the male holding a sword and shield before him.

Surprised the beast would suddenly launch at him, the hero hesitated in his step for a moment.

The wyvern managed to pin the human in his mouth. Ignoring the scream from the man, he clenched his upper and lower jaw together. The scream stopped just as a lukewarm liquid with a metallic taste poured in his mouth. He closed his eyes savoring the taste, ignoring his surroundings.

"Darn it!" Eleanor cursed at the scene unfolding before her.

Lazlo aimed his magic at the neck of the beast, unleashing the ball of energy with everything he had. Its scale finally cracked open revealing the soft tissues underneath.

Eleanor dropped her lance and pulled her silver sword, raising it high above her head. She leaped at the wyvern's exposed flesh and brought the bladed edge down with all her might.

* * *

His surrounding had turned to chaos in matter of seconds, but he paid them no mind. He had more important task at hand. The tip of the spear was getting bigger, coming straight to his gut.

Robin took a step back, getting out of the lance's range. He let out his breath, before inhaling once more. He turned his body slightly to the side, followed by a hard kick to the ground propelling his body forward.

He thrust his longsword to the man before him.  _One_   _heavy, powerful motion._

Alphonse kicked the ground as well, strafing to his left leaving Robin's blade suspended on thin air.

"Tsk." Robin reached his left hand to his sword's hilt, clasping it with both hands. Twisting his upper body with all his strength, the tactician followed his initial attack with a side slash, arcing widely towards its target.

Alphonse retracted his lance, covering the side of his body with the middle part.

"Gah!" The impact from his motion abruptly stopping snapped Robin's shoulder in its place for a moment, before everything went dark for him.

A kick from the wyvern lord forced the tactician to take three steps back.

Robin glared at the spiked-metal boot, stained with patches of red blots. He was coughing heavily, firmly pressing his left hand on his stomach. He could feel the lukewarm liquid drenched his shirt and started creeping through his fingers.  _I hate that lance._

Finally catching his breath, the tactician straightened his back once more. He shook his head a few times, regaining his focus. He eyed the wyvern lord once more. His stained face reminded Robin to the time when they were half their height now. Thick, purple goo was dripping from the cuts all over his body. His gaze finally stopped at Alphonse's right shoulder. His shoulder armor was all but shattered, with pieces of it buried in the man's shoulder, soaking his right arm with the purple liquid like the rest of his body.  _Either way, this ends here._

Robin relaxed his body, bringing the shield in his left hand to the front and his sword slightly to the back.

Alphonse gripped his lance in both hands, also bringing his weapon in front of him.

Both men lunged towards each other at the same time.

Robin brought his right hand forward as hard as he could. Coupled with the momentum from his charge, he could feel the right side of his body gravitated towards the wyvern lord.

Alphonse parried the tactician's blade with the tip of his lance, making a loud clank when both weapons met.

The moved from the lancer left Robin wide open. Contrary to his usual style, he didn't even move to defend himself.  _Not now, not when he was this close._

Robin took another step forward with his left foot, this time raising his shield above his shoulder. He rammed the hefty piece of metal at his opponent's shoulder.

"Arrggh!" Alphonse let out a scream for the first time since their 'reunion'. His lance dropped to the ground. He brought his right knee, metal padded and all towards the man in front of him.

Following his attack, Robin instinctively reached for his sword with one single motion, grabbing the bladed edge instead of the hilt bringing it to cover his front.

A loud clank ringed through the air once more.

Gritting his teeth, Robin sunk the broken sword in his right hand under Alphonse's left shoulder.

"Gaahh!" The wyvern lord let out another scream.

Gripping the other half of the shattered blade, Robin positioned the tip towards the man's chest.  _Only one thing left._

Gripping the shattered end with both hands, Robin pushed the piece of metal forward, ignoring the warmth from the liquid drenching his hands or the heat reaching out from deep within his eyes.

* * *

"You alright kid?"

"I'm fine! And don't call me kid. You're not much older than me."

"Keep talking like that even your children would call you kid. No wonder you don't have any friend. I'm Alphonse by the way."

"…"

"You really don't know what to do around strangers do you?"

"Robin. My name's Robin."

"Robin? Isn't that like, a girl's name?"

"!"

"Relax, I was just joking. Sheesh, kids these days can't even take a joke. Here, let me made up to you."

"A… sword?"

"Yep. My father used to say, these day and edge even your own brother'd stab you in the back for stale bread. Take care of that thing real good, she'll take care of you the rest of your life."

"And you believe him? Scratch that, you're giving me a sword after what he said?"

"He's my father, 'course I believe him. For your second question, I need a sparring partner…"

"?"

"Oh, stop it with the face. Not like you got anything better to do. Now, are you gonna stand there like an idiot, or are you gonna join me and get stronger for when we get out of this gods-forsaken hellhole?"

"…"


	11. Nightmare

After Robin's departure, it was up to Cordelia to make sure the Sheperds stay alive.

*Sigh* Cordelia let out a very audible sigh as she observed the ground from her pegasus. Robin's cloak loosely wrapped her body.

"Are you okay Cordy? You haven't been sleeping well lately too haven't you?" Sumia's voice brought her thoughts back from the distant plains before her.

Cordelia smiled and turned her head to see the worried look on her best friend's face. "I'm fine. Things have been pretty hectic lately you know."

"I'm sorry. With Robin gone and Sir Frederick bed-ridden, you had to do all the planning by yourself." The queen said.

"It's fine. Robin trusted me to make sure you're all safe. In fact, I should be the one apologizing to you. Ever since that day, Robin didn't want any member of the royal family in the battlefield, but-"

"Cordy. We've been friends for so long now." Sumia cut. "With Nowi in the final stage and Lady Cherche away, we're the only fliers left. And there's no way I'm letting you do the scouting by yourself." She continued, assuring Cordelia with her usual soft, calming voice.

"Thanks." The red-haired woman answered shortly, smiling to her friend. "I've seen enough for today. Let's go back. We still need to inform the Feroxis and plan for our next moved."

Sumia just nodded at her tactician's suggestion. Both pegasi turned around and flew in the direction of the capitol.

Behind them, black smoke rose from the village, or what was left of the village they came to see.

* * *

Back at the war meeting room in the capitol of Ashborne, Priam was resting his back against the wall, watching the Chon'sin princess pacing back and forth throughout the room. Although they did suffer some casualties, and it would take some time before Gregor could return to the battlefield, their skirmish with the resurrected Conqueror went down just as planned. With Kay'ri's tactics and Priam's prowess, coupled with Flavia and Gregor's experience, the battle ended with them victorious.

"Calm down Princess." Priam broke his silence.

Kay'ri halted her steps and looked at the burly man for a moment before continuing her pacing. She stopped once again when a tankard appeared in her vision. She raised her head to see a blonde woman wearing a red hero armor standing in front of her. Flavia was holding two mugs in her hand, extending the one in her right to the black-haired sage.

"K-Khan Flavia." Kay'ri was flustered by the gesture from the older woman.

"Drink this. It'll help calm your nerve." Flavia said, smiling to the girl.

"Wh-I-Thank you." Kay'ri stumbled for words, reaching for the drink with both hands.

The young princess only managed to take a sip from her mug when the door sprung wide open. Her face lit up at the sight of the people at the entrance.

"Sister!"

Say'ri entered the room, followed by Tiki and the two Roseanne nobles.

"I take it you guys didn't have that much troubles either?" Flavia asked the queen.

"Thanks to Duke Virion's planning." Say'ri answered, taking a seat beside her sister.

"Actually your highnesses, this time it was more on them than it was on me." The blue-haired archer contradicted the swordswoman, pouring himself a drink. Seeing the surprised look on Flavia and Say'ri's faces, he shifted his gaze towards the younger of the twins.

"I'm sure Lady Kay'ri felt it as well."

All eyes turned upon the young princess at the archer's words.

Kay'ri swallowed the drink in her mouth slowly. "I didn't make a big deal out of it then but yes, they did seem a bit… lacking."

Priam raised his head at her statement.

"Lacking how?" Flavia asked.

"Well, for starters they were more straight-forward this time compared to the last. It seemed as if they went back to act how a risen should. Just acted on instinct and habit..."

Hearing the young woman's explanation, all the people present in the room went silent. Nobody voiced it, but they were all thinking the same thing.  _Robin_.

"Then we need to get to them, fast!" Flavia practically screamed at the rest of the group. Her drink spilled on the table as she smashed the steel mug onto the slab of oak.

"Apologize Lady Flavia, but that won't change a thing." Virion said. "He's at least two days march from here, and we don't even know if that was the case. There's also the possibility that is what the enemy wanted. Whether we like it or not, they're on their own." He reasoned with the blonde.

Gritting her teeth, Flavia sat on her chair. "Hmmph!" She gulped what was left of her drink.

The door sprung open once more. A soldier donning official Ashborne armor was panting at the entrance. His face was as grim as night, which could only mean one thing. Priam straightened his back, Virion put down his drink and Flavia stood up from her seat. All those present in the room braced themselves for the incoming news.

"L-Lady Eleanor and… Sir Lazlo is back…" He was still panting between words. "Apparently there were ambushed after the fight with Lord Alphonse." He gulped the lump in his throat and continued. "Lord Robin was captured…"

* * *

Dark. His throat was dry, his body ached all over, and his surrounding was pitch-black. He tried moving his hands, only to be stopped by a sound of metals clanking together. He tried moving his feet, only to give up halfway through the motion.  _Movement._  He felt his body was rocking up and down slowly, as if he was inside a moving cart. He took a deep breath, sucking in all the air as much as he could. The smell of salt stung his nostrils.  _Ahh_. It came to him.  _What's that? Fire?_  The faint crackling of a burning fire came to his ears. He tried to pry open his eyelids. They were lead.  _How long was I out?_  He tried again.

The glow of a candle, burning freely on a table a good ten paces from him pierced his eyes. He looked at his immediate area and confirmed his thoughts from earlier.

"Slept well?" A familiar voice, sultry, yet full of venom sent his inner being to high alert! He turned his head to its direction so fast his eyes started spinning.

"Aversa!" Robin snarled at the sight of the white-haired woman. "Why am I not surprised?" Robin glared daggers at the magician, not exactly asking.

"Aww. Don't be like that. With Master Validar gone, I was hoping we could be friends again. You know, like last time." The woman answered with her alluring voice. Most men would melt at her feet just from her voice alone. Of course, most men didn't know Aversa like Robin did.

"Why? So you can stab me in the back again?" Robin barked.

"Actually, no. This time  _you_  will do the stabbing. You know, just like you did to that blue-blooded friend of yours."

"Go to hell!"

"Oh, hush up dear. Don't you know getting tense before bed will make it harder for you to sleep?" Aversa cooed to the tactician.

Robin's face turned cloudy at the woman's words. His nostrils caught the smell other than salt expanding the room. He could feel his body relaxing and his eyelids heavy.

"Sleep tight my dear Robin. Next time you're awake, you'll be home.  _With family_."

The last thing Robin saw was Aversa smiling before a complete darkness shrouded him.

* * *

The sound of metal grinding was the first thing he noticed. Robin was lying on his back, the sun was straight up in the sky and swords were sticking on the ground around him. He brought himself up to see  _Robin_  was grinding a sword in front of him.

" _Welcome back."_

Robin walked slowly towards the man sitting in the clearing in front of him. He noticed the sword resembling the Falchion sitting on the ground beside _him_. The tactician recognized the sword the man was polishing at first glance.

"That sword…" Robin broke his silence.

_Robin_  lifted the sword to his front, tracing the curved edge with his fingers. "Beautiful, isn't it." He asked, turning around to face his visitor.

Robin just nodded in agreement.

" _The Balmung."_  The man said, wiping the blade with a piece of cloth.  _"Legend said this blade belonged to a warrior family around eight hundred years ago. The wielder, the matriarch of the family used it to settle a civil war in her motherland. Like any wielder of a legendary sword, she managed to unite her fellow countrymen under one banner and ruled the nation in great prosperity for years. But not many people knew she died a horrible death after ten years on throne."_

"A horrible death?" Intrigued, Robin asked and took a seat on a rock nearby.

" _Oh yeah. Rumor has it she became mad after giving birth to her second child. She killed all the members of her own family before slitting her throat with this same blade. Ironic isn't it?" Robin_ stopped for a moment and turned to face the tactician.  _"The blade that granted her chance at her own family happened to be the tool of their demise as well."_

"That's just a rumor right?" Robin asked skeptically.

_Robin_  just shrugged at the tactician's doubt.

"How'd you get the blade?"

" _She visited me here, once. I liked the look of the blade, so I copied it." Robin_  then gestured to his surroundings.  _"How'd you think this place became like this in the first place?"_

"So these are all fakes then." Robin murmured to himself, gazing at the arms in silent. Wind started to blow in his face. Soft and soothing. For some reason, his eyelids were becoming heavier and heavier by the second.

* * *

"Rise and shine sweetheart." The familiar voice brought him back to his senses once more.

Robin opened his eyes and let them adjusted to their surroundings. He ignored the woman standing in front of him and went to place his sights upon his environment instead. He was in a room, a hall to be precise. His eyes could barely make the flickering light sticking to the walls and pillars in the center. Some of the pillars were reduced to mere rubbles. The bricks and stones that were a part of the pillar glistened with a silver glow.  _Moonlight?_  Robin looked up towards the ceiling and saw the twinkling of the stars and the big, round light hanging in the sky. Had enough, he finally set his gaze towards his immediate area. He was sitting, or rather, tied to a throne. He'd seen this stone altar before. He was with Chrom back then. And Validar was standing where he was now. Two words sprung to his mind at the sight.  _Dragon's Table._

"Like what you see?"

Aversa's voice grabbed his attention. He could feel his heartbeat getting faster and his body stiffened yet again. Slowly he returned his gaze towards the woman directly in front of him. Aversa was holding something in her hands.  _Something shiny._

Robin raised his head. His eyes widened at the sight of Aversa's left hand. A shield glistened in its dull colored gold. Jewels white and blue and green and purple and red as big as his fist decorated its front, sitting securely in its crevasses.  _The Fire Emblem._  The start of the many grieves he caused to the Sheperds.

Aversa just smiled at the tactician, shoving the shield towards him in a mocking manner. She raised her right hand to show him the item in her right hand.

Once again Robin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"By the look on your face, I'd say you've seen this sword before. In your dream perhaps?"

Aversa hit the nail on the head. Robin had seen the sword before. In his dream. With the hilt and the hole along the blade, there was no mistaking it. It was the sword the other Robin was holding in his dream.  _The one resembling the Falchion._

"The Tyrfing." Aversa spoke.

"Wha-"

"People say this sword is a direct opposite to the Falchion you lot love so much." The dark flier started monologuing. "Just as Falchion was rumored to be forged from Naga's tooth, this one was forged from the tooth of the felldragon himself."

"Grima."

"Yes, Lord Grima. Legend has it only the strongest follower of Lord Grima can wield this sword. Just as the chosen ones from the  _rightful_  family could wield the Falchion."

"What's that got to do with me?" The tactician barked at the white-haired woman. "I'm neither the royal family nor a Grimleal."

"Oh, but everything was about you Robin. You  _and_  the Fire Emblem."

Robin's face went stiff at the woman's words.

"You see, people say the Fire Emblem is Ylisse's greatest treasure, her regalia, handed over to the head of the country generations after generations. That is not so. In truth, the Hero King merely took it from its resting place thousands of years ago and kept it for himself." She paused to admire the sword in her right hand for a moment.

Robin just waited silently.

"Not many people know this but the emblem is more or less a key rather than an ornament of status or a keepsake for the victor." She grinned slyly before continuing. "And the swords are the door!"

"The swords?"

"The Ylisseans use it with the Falchion to perform their version of the Awakening to get to Naga's true power.  _We_  use it with the Tyrfing to get to Lord Grima's. Same thing, different... destination."

"True… power?" Cold sweat started forming on Robin's forehead at the sudden revelation.  _Could it be?_

"Yes, after all, what do you think your Ignis and their Aether were in the first place, hmm? They were just but a fragment of the dragon's powers."

Aversa's answer confirmed Robin's suspicion. He struggled to get free but to no avail. His bindings were too tight. The clanking of metals echoed through the hall as the tactician moved in his place.

"Please Robin dear. There's no use resisting destiny. You won't even remember a thing when all this is over." Aversa said, walking slowly towards him. "And when Lord Grima arrived, I would have taken Ylisstol for him."

"You-"

* * *

Back in Ylisstol, Cordelia along with Lissa and the Khans were discussing their next course of action.

"So they've come that far?" The blonde exalt asked. "And you are absolutely certain they're coming here?"

Cordelia just nodded to the younger woman's question. "Their numbers grew by the minutes. You don't gather that kind of army just to raze villages. Not even for a mindless risen."

"But you said they've been attacking the villages around here." The East Khan, Raimi voiced her thought, pointing at the map in front of them. "Why don't they come straight here if that's the case?"

"They're limiting our options." The crimson-haired woman drew a circle on the map with her finger. "We need to act now, before it's too late."

"So you're suggesting we go out there and take care of them before they got here?" Lon'qu broke his silence, as if the prospect of finally cutting down the undeads resonated with him.

"No. They're too spread out for us to clean them. Their coming here is inevitable." Cordelia sighed before continuing, "I'm saying we need to evacuate the capitol before they close off our escape routes completely."

"But, where do you suppose we go?" Sumia spoke for the first time since the meeting.

"Ferox." Raimi answered the question for Cordelia. All eyes shifted to the heavily-armored woman. "We've got enough land for both countries if your people don't mind the weather. And hopefully the snow will slow the walking corpses somewhat."

"And then what?" Lon'qu's gruff voice again echoed through the room. "We all know they won't stop here." He added, knowing full well what their enemies' next target would be.

"That's why some of us will stay and meet them here." Cordelia answered. All members in the room returned their gaze to the tactician. "Yllistol will most likely, no definitely fallen. But we can try thinning the herd and buy some more time for the Feroxis. Hopefully they'll be manageable when they get there."

"I take it there's no other way then?" Lissa asked.

"I'm afraid not." Cordelia answered, not even bringing her head up to face the younger woman.

It was Lissa's turn to let out a sigh. "Then let it be known to the people of Ylisse, it is the will of their Exalt that they escape to our sister country, Regna Ferox. And Khan Raimi, I leave the fate of our people to you." She pleaded to the other woman, bowing her head.

"Please, milady. There is no need for that kind of formalities. Both of our nations have stood side by side for three great wars now we are practically one. Your people are my people." Raimi went and raised Lissa's head from her gesture, touching her shoulder.

Lissa simply smiled to the woman.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. There's a lot to be done in Ferox for this to succeed." Raimi gave a nod to the rest of them before exiting the room with Lon'qu.

"Whew, now that that's settled, what do you need me to do?" Lissa wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before asking Cordelia in her usual cheerful voice.

"But milady Liss-"

"Cordelia," knowing what she would say, the blonde cut in before the knight could even finish her sentence. "I admit weren't that close, but we did fought alongside each other for the longest time now. And you've been looking out for us ever since Robin gone. Why don't you stop with the  _milady_  stuff and let us help you for a change, huh?"

Cordelia just smiled at her response. She looked at her best friend smiling beside them before returning her sight to the petite woman. "Thank you,  _Lissa_."

"Good." Lissa was smiling wide at the knight's words. "Now what do you want me to do next?"

Cordelia took a few deep breaths before raising her head and looking Lissa in the eyes. "Then as your tactician, I suggest you summon all the available Sheperds right away."


	12. Fate

Robin glared daggers at his doppelganger. He clenched his sword so tight his knuckles white out. He gritted his teeth so hard they'd meld together if they could.

Grima just smiled silently watching the tactician. He pulled his sword from the ground and gave it a few swings. He then reached his left hand into his cloak and brought out a book. Its cover was a very dark purple, almost black. Four gold trims adorned each corners of the cover surrounding a golden symbol in the center.

Robin couldn't get his eyes off of the marking. And as if a living being, all six golden eyes on the center seemed to stare back at him the whole time he watched it. The back of his right hand burned just from their 'gaze'.

A dark orb suddenly appearing before him startled the tactician. Robin instinctively raised his shield in front of him.

* * *

Aversa just watched as her army of undead soldiers stormed Ylisstol's main gate. Her pegasus was flapping its wings steadily, keeping her gaze stable on the action in the city beneath.

"Tsk, so they managed to get out before we came. Guess Robin's wench's better than I thought." She murmured.

Aversa continued observing the result of her planning. She clicked her tongue when her vanguards were ambushed and let out a satisfied smile when the cavalries overwhelmed the tired soldiers.

The smile dropped when a volley of arrows blocked her sight.

Raising her hand, the white-haired woman shot down the incoming barrage with her wind magic.

"Guess now's a good time as any." Aversa gently kicked her black steed and the pegasus started flapping its wings stronger.

The dark flier flew towards the band of risens and humans fighting in the distance.

* * *

He looked as the new horde of risens flooded through the gate. Working with his band of soldiers, they had managed to take care of the initial wave of the undeads. He clenched his spear tightly.

"Don't chase the strays. Leave 'em to the others!" He screamed to his friends around him. Together they formed a human wall with their metal shields in front and spears jutting out from the openings.

His eyes never shifted from the unfolding scene in front of him.

The walking corpses headed straight for them without even the slightest tell of slowing down. Incoherent grunting and metals clanking became louder and louder and the air became heavier and heavier with the stench of rotting flesh.

He gritted his jaws tightly, pushing back the contents of his stomach from pouring out into the open. He gulped the stuffiness he felt in his throat back down.

"Steady guys!" He screamed from the top of his lungs. Clanking of metals rose from their side as well as they tightened their formation. He could feel the heat on his back as the mages charged their spells. The risens now directly in front of them he could practically feel their breathings on his cheek.

"For Ylisse!" The soldiers screamed at the same time, bracing themselves for their incoming visitors. The impact from the clash pushed the men backwards. Trails of soles formed on the ground as they struggled to stop the undeads' advance. Tips of spears moved back and forth from the steel wall, catching and skewering whatever rotten flesh they could. The mages lobbed their balls of fire from behind, burning any risens not fast enough to react.

"That's it guys, push!" He rallied his comrades. "We need to keep 'em away from her highness for as long as w-"

A loud bang from his left cut his words. He turned his head to see a risen, easily twice as big as him standing where one of his friends used to be. Its right foot was stomping on a shield.  _And his friend was lying between the metal sheet and the ground._ He watched in horror as the hefty slab of metal gave way to the excessive force becoming flatter and flatter with each 'step'. He steeled his throat once again as his friend's muffled scream became lower and lower, and eventually stopped.

The risen turned its head slowly to its right.

The man steeled his stomach at the sight of the abomination. Black, rotten flesh jutted out of the large gash on its gut, dangling in the air and dripping purplish liquid at its feet. The stench pierced his nostrils as his throat threatened to give way once more. One, two, three yellowish stubs protruded from his bare chest.  _Monster._  Was all he could think of at the sight. His eardrums exploded hearing the risen's scream.

The undead berserker rushed to his new target. He raised his hammer high in the air. Gripping the handle with both hands he swung the chunk of metal in front of him.

* * *

Swoosh!

Grima launched a surge of dark magic from the tip of his sword.

Robin sidestepped to his right dodging the wave of energy. He rushed the man in front of him, shield raised, sword at the ready. He stopped directly in front of the fell dragon and bashed his shield.  _Missed._ He followed his attack with a wide slash from his sword.

Clank!

A loud sound echoed through the air as the steel blade met Tyrfing's edge.

Grima just smirked at the tactician before planting the sole of his boot on Robin's gut sending him a good distance back.

"Come on, Robin. Is this really your all? You're not even using my blessing. At this rate, you might just give me your body. I mean, are you even  _trying_ to stop me?" Grima asked, his tone anything but pleasant. He stopped directly in front of the tactician. Sticking his sword on the ground, he conjured a pole in his right hand and threw it to Robin.

Robin caught the spear and stared at it.

"That brother of yours fought like a mad beast lost its cubs. I had to tear his limb one by one before he even let me…  _consume_ him completely." Grima taunted, his usual calm voice started coursing, spitting venom with each words.

Robin was burning inside out at the dragon's speech.

"Of course his body couldn't even last a week when I took it. I'm curious, how long would  _you_ be able to take the rest of my blessings. I sure hope you'll last long enough until I kill that brat of yo-"

Robin exploded at Grima's words. He disappeared into a red blur in front of the felldragon and reappeared behind him.

Grima wiped the thick purple liquid gushing out from the large gash on his neck. He turned around to see the tactician's deep, dark red pools glaring at him. His red aura was pulsating furiously around him. The felldragon just smiled at the man. His own purplish energy intensified around him.

* * *

"Cordy!" Sumia shouted, getting the attention of her friend. "Incoming!"

Cordelia looked at the direction pointed by the queen. A group of risens were headed their way. A grotesquely large risen was pacing ahead of the others, front and center. The undead was looking right at them while dragging his hammer leaving a trail of thick, red line on the road.

"Darn it!" Coredlia cursed, kicking the risen near her before impaling it with her spear.

"Okay, listen up everyone." She said, dodging a slash from another undead swordsman. "We can't meet them head on. The others will surround us while we're busy with the big one. Vaike, Lon'qu, I'm sorry but I need you to keep him busy while we deal with the underlings. Sumia, I want you and Miriel go to the top of the tower. You'll be able to heal the guys from there, and Miriel can pick at the small fries as well. Panne, you're with me."

Hearing the instruction, the giant rabbit retreated and changed back to her human form. Miriel and Sumia halted their movement and boarded the queen's pegasus. Cordelia and Panne did the same with the other winged-horse standing guard at the back.

"Go!" Lon'qu instructed, slashing an axe wielder from closing in on the fliers.

"Yeah, just leave 'im to us." Vaike added, splitting the last of the earlier wave of risens in two.

Cordelia and Sumia nodded to the men and flew to different sides of the road they were in.

"Well, guess it's just you and me now. Just like always, partner." Vaike said, walking beside the swordmaster looking over at the new arrivals.

Lon'qu just smiled silently beside the blonde, readying his sword.

Both men waited for the risens to enter their range. Lon'qu observed his surroundings , anxiously looking for his friends on their way to their destination. He shifted his focus back on their target. The swordsman stroke as it entered his range.

Lon'qu leapt to his side and kicked the wall near him. The force from his action sent him flying straight towards the beast. He raised his sword and unleashed a heavy downward slash as soon as he entered his range.

The risen hopped backwards. One step shy of Lon'qu's attack.  _Awfully quick for the size._  Lon'qu grunted at his blunder. The risen was standing directly in front of the West Khan, casting shadows on the ground near him. He raised his hammer high, ready to strike. His attempt failed when a force from his side sent him to the ground.

Vaike followed his ram with an attack from his silver axe.

Seeing the incoming attack, the risen brought his hammer forward.

A loud clank rang through the air as the heavy chunk of metals collided with each other.

The risen kicked the berserker in the gut. Vaike was thrown to the ground behind. The undead got up as another risen rushed towards the blonde raising his silver sword. The large risen leapt forward and raised his hammer for the third time, ready to strike.

Lon'qu lunged forward and thrust his curve blade, aiming for the risen's arm. The enormous berserker let out a deafening scream as Lon'qu's sword pierced his right arm and the hammer dropped on his face.

Vaike simply smiled watching the undead hero near him burned to a crisp from a fireball coming down on him.  _Thanks love_. He reached for his silver axe as the zeal of healing magic energized him back.

The Sheperds carried out their plan as instructed by the scarlet-haired tactician. Lon'qu and Vaike were focusing on the big risen while Miriel and Sumia healed and thinned their adversaries. At the same time, a red blur was flying in and out of the group while a giant rabbit was wreaking havoc in the back.

Cordelia's plan seemed to work perfectly. The scarlet-haired knight was readying hersef to finish one of her targets when Panne's shout caught her attention.  _South_  was the only word she heard. It didn't take much for Cordelia to know what it meant. She turned her head to the south entrance. The barricade they had put was shaking furiously, telling her their time was running out. Also, a certain white-haired dark flier was headed straight for them.

Cordelia cursed under her breath. "Lissa and the others should be over in a few moments. Go find them when you guys finished here." The giant rabbit twitched her ears at her words, acknowledging her instruction. Satisfied with her friend's answer, the falcon knight turned towards the incoming magician and shot straight to the sky.

* * *

Lissa was running. Ricken was close behind her. Maribelle and her husband were as well. The Exalt looked ahead to the orange-haired thief leading them through the small alley. Sounds of metals clanking and muffled roars caught her ears whenever they'd ran past a battle progressing on the other side. They stopped in front of a small house at a corner she didn't even know existed.

"Only two more." Gaius said, gesturing for the front door.

"I'll guard the entrance then. You guys go on inside." Kellam said, lowering his shield.

"Right. Let's get this over with." Lissa took a deep breath and followed the thief inside. Ricken and Maribelle, leading her horse by its reign followed suit.

Gaius lowered some pouches from the steed. He opened one of them and checked the content.  _Black powder._

"I'll set them up. You guys worked on the connection." He said to the others.

The trio of mages silently nodded to the thief. Ricken brought out a book from inside his sleeve, tore a page from it and handed it to his wife. Lissa and Maribelle did the same. They each went to three different corners of the room and started casting.

Small magic circles started forming on their hands and 'dripped' onto the floor. Some of the droplets started moving to the other side of the wall, while some made their ways to the pile of pouches at the center of the room.

The mages did their work in silent for some time. They finally stopped when the pieces of paper in their left hands turned black and just crumbled by themselves. They nodded to the thief in the room and went outside, making their way to the next one.

* * *

Robin cursed under his breath. His heart was burning and it took all of him to not stop and fell over. He moved like an eagle eyeing its prey, except he was the prey, nimbly changing his direction and dodging the projectiles thrown at him. His eyes only focused on the  _thing_  at the center of the field.

His doppelganger was nowhere in sight. A beast the size of a house took his place. Dark, ominous cloud formed above its head. Its wings, all six of them, shot out black spires of energy towards the tactician.

Robin dodged and parried the attacks coming his way.  _The spears from the middle left wing are delayed. I can use that._  Counting, Robin waited the moment for his counterattack. He played his move over and over in his head. He circled the beast, dodging its attack and making sure the swords on the ground won't get in his way.  _Now!_

Robin dodged a pole from the back left wing and rushed diagonally towards Grima. He sidestepped the spear from the middle wing and, grabbing his sword with both hands, stroke at its leg with all his might.

"Gaarggh!" Grima's scream, coarse and thunderous, roared through the air as Robin crossed to the other side from under the beast. Getting out, Robin grabbed a sword sticking on the ground, using it as an anchor, swung his whole body and turned around to face the dragon once again, simultaneously parrying another black spike. He yanked the sword in his left hand and shot straight to the winged beast for the second time.

Robin thrust the newly acquired sword to the dragon's underbelly, moving it with him as he ran back to the behemoth left side. Grima's scream popped his eardrums off as the purple liquid from the beast drenched him. Robin hissed as Grima's blood burned his skin. He ignored the pain in favor of reaping the fruit of his labor.  _Grima had finally stopped his onslaught._

Robin went out from the other side only to meet the three pairs of Grima's eyes staring at him from above.

"Why, why do you resist me human? Don't you see?" Grima gestured to the field with his wings, "even if you manage to stop me, there will be others. Others I can corrupt, others that will take my blessing with an open arm!"

" _Because_  I'm a human!" Robin barked at the beast before him. "We humans are a fickle bunch you see. Some will greet death with an open arm, while others will stare death in the eyes, arms in hand!" Robin smirked, and swung his swords a few times. "Which one do you think I am?"

"Then die!" Grima's front leg snaked towards the tactician.

Robin took a deep breath, focusing on the incoming limb.  _Just one chance._  His ruby red eyes became redder and redder, and his crimson aura glowed tenser and tenser.

Robin dodged Grima's attack with a large sidestep. He leapt back towards his initial position and sank the sword in his left hand on the dragon's arm. Grima writhed in pain and fell down. Landing on its limb, Robin ran up Grima's arm and leapt towards his head from the shoulder. He raised his sword high, gripping the hilt with both hands. The tactician was now staring right at the six purple, oversized pools.

And Grima flapped his front wings!

The sudden gust threw Robin off-balance. He tried finishing what he started when an enormous force from his left pushed him out of his target. He could feel his whole shoulder crushed from the sheer weight of it, and it became hard for him to breathe.

* * *

"You don't know when to give up, do you?"

"Neither do you!"

"True, but I know something you don't. Guess what? Your precious Robin's dead." Aversa stopped in mid-air and reached for a satchel on her mount. "See?" She pulled out a half-broken sword, grapping its hilt and pointing what's left of the blade towards the falcon knight in front of her.

"Wha-" Cordelia stumped at the woman's gesture. She just stalled, looking at the item in Aversa's hand.

"And you can follow him as well!" The white-haired woman launched the thing in her hand to the knight. Cordelia's pegasus moved, barely dodging the flying metal only to find Aversa was readying an attack for them. "Say hi for me, okay?"

The dark flier was about to throw the ball of dark energy when a pink blur rammed her from the side making her missed.

"Cordy, Lissa's finished. We need to get out,  _now._ " Sumia's shout broke the scarlet-haired knight from her stupor.

"You!" Aversa snarled, ready to pounce on the queen when Cordelia slammed her pegasus against the black steed.

"Let's go!" Cordelia and Sumia nodded to each other before both pegasi sped away from the dark flier.

Cordelia just watched as a string of explosions broke out at the heart of Ylisstol. Buildings crumbled to the ground, crushing and burying any risen caught in it. They made their way out as thick, black smoke rose to the sky.

* * *

At a small hill not far from the capitol, Lissa was waving her hand at the approaching knights. Ricken were standing beside her while Maribelle, Kellam and Gaius were readying a cart behind them.

"I'm sorry it came out to this." Cordelia apologized, watching the burning capitol.

"It's fine. Everyone's safe, that's the most important." Lissa consoled her friend, putting her hand on Cordelia's shoulder. "We'll take her back, I promise."

"We should hurry. The others are waiting." Sumia said.

Cordelia turned around to face the two women. "Actually, if you don't mind, can you tell them to go first? There's someone I want to introduce to you two." She said, smiling.

* * *

_Huhum hu~m huhu~m_

_Huhu~m hum huhu~m_

_Hu~m hu~m huhu~m_

_Huhu~m huhu~m…_

The melody broke him out of his reverie. Robin was in his house. He looked around for the source of the sound and smiled when he found it. The two most important to him were in the living room. One was carrying the other, rocking her body with the tune. Robin tried reaching for them, but he just couldn't move his hands. They seemed to be stuck, or chained by something.

Robin turned around to see Chrom was grabbing his wrist. "Chrom? How could this be? You're…" Chrom just smiled at his best friend. "I see. So I've failed them.  _Failed her._ " Robin murmured, looking fondly at the child sleeping snugly in her mother's arms.

"Hah, what're ye spouting, boy?" A big, muscular arm wrangled Robin's neck, moving him away from the blunette. "You did great. Better than any of us could." Basilio said, laughing boisterously.

"He's right you know." Chrom finally broke his silence. "And don't worry. They're strong, stronger than us. They'll get through."

The West Khan turned himself and the tactician around once more. Robin's eyes widened as he saw the people in the back. Emmeryn bowed to him when their gaze met. Phila just stood right beside her. And another pegasus knight was smiling on the other side of the former exalt. Alphonse was smiling, stomping the floor with the butt of his lance. And his mercenary friends were doing the same.

* * *

Grima looked down at the man lying on the ground, small and broken now. He was twitching and gasping for air, coughing blood all over. And yet, the contempt smile never leaved his face.

"You can't even see me now can you?" The fell dragon asked.  _Silence._  Slowly, the behemoth raised his front leg, casting shadow upon the man. With one fluid motion he lowered it, putting all the weight of his body on the limb.


	13. Epilogue

He opened his eyes to find himself in a hall. The sun was high up in the sky, casting its light to all four corners of the room. He tried moving his hands only to find them unmovable, bound by some metal chains. A dark, purplish aura started pulsating from him as he yanked his hands with one solid pull. And just like that, his hands were free once more. He grabbed the sword in his right side and cut the chain around his feet. He then looked to his left to find a golden shield with five jewels attached to its surface. He reached for one of the jewels, the purple one, took it out of its place and put it in a pouch on his hip.

Grima brought himself up and kicked the Fire Emblem to one corner of the room. The purple light around his body became tenser, and he started floating. He grabbed his sword and made his way to the big hole in one of the walls.

* * *

At a refugee camp near the border of Ferox and Ylisse, Cordelia, Sumia and Lissa were surrounded by a small gathering of the people. Amidst the heaviness of leaving their home, cheers and hails echoed through the air at the women's arrival.

"Long live the Exalt! Long live the Queen!"

"Thank Naga they're safe."

"…"

Cordelia just watched as the royals shook hands and waved to the people.

"Cordelia!" A voice behind her broke her focus and she turned around to face it. "Thank gods you're finally here. I was preparing for the worse when Lady Sully said you'd stay behind."

Cordelia just smiled at the older woman holding a sleeping girl in her arm. The knight went to place a kiss on the woman's cheeks, and she did the same. Cordelia took the girl in her arm, looking fondly at her face before planting a kiss on her crown. The girl slowly opened her eyes at the sudden movement, raising her head to gaze on the redhead. "Mommy?" She said groggily, slowly rubbing her eyes.

"Shhh… mother's here now. And I'll never leave your side again, so go back to sleep, okay?"

"Mmm… kay…" The girl proceeded to rest her chin on Cordelia's shoulder while the knight gently patted her back.

Sumia and Lissa looked at each other at the unfolding scene in front of them. Cordelia made her way to them with the older woman in tow.

"Sumia, Lissa, this is Severa. My daughter." The tactician just smiled at her friends' faces, "and Robin's."

The Exalt and the Queen looked at each other for the second time. They stayed that way for some more minutes until Sumia finally spoke. "Wait, so you're saying you and Robin had a child together? Why… didn't you tell us? Tell me…"

Cordelia was still smiling at her friends, her hand was still patting Severa's back. "I'm sorry for that. It wasn't our intention, but the timing was always against us." The older woman gestured for the three Sheperds to follow her. The three women happily obliged and the four of them made their way to one of the tent nearby.

"We had her around a year after Lucina's birth-"

"You had her on your travel? Wait, that doesn't make any sense. Robin never leaved Ylisstol." It was Cordelia's turn to have a questioning look on her face at the Queen's words. "You went missing around three months after Lucy's birth. Robin said you went on a journey to find yourself or something. And given  _our circumstance_ , I just thought you needed some time by yourself…"

"What? No. I told you, I was over Chrom years ago. I was here the whole time. Mother's been helping me with her." Sumia furrowed her brows, and Lissa was trying her hardest not to scream and wake up the sleeping child from the sudden revelation.

"But why wouldn't you tell us? We could've helped you too you know." Sumia asked again, taking her spot next to her friend in the tent. The girl started opening her eyes at Cordelia's sudden movement. The redhead proceeded to rest the Severa's head on her lap and lulled the girl back to sleep. Lissa just couldn't help herself from making faces at the half-awake girl.

"Like I said, the timing just wasn't suitable." Cordelia said, fawning over her daughter's face, clearing the bangs over her forehead while she drifted back to slumber. "We were still rebuilding from the war, and Chrom needed all the help he could get. So we decided it's better for only one of us gone instead of both. Not to mention Robin  _was_  the Royal Advisor." She added, now straightening one of Severa's pigtails, smiling at the tuft of hair.  _Brunette, just like her father._  "And, it wasn't like we were going to keep it a secret forever."

The falcon knight slid her hand inside Severa's blouse and brought out a ring, dangling from a silver necklace around her daughter's neck. She traced the cloud engravings on the simple gold band with her right thumb. "We  _were_ planning on making it official after this one. We planned to retire and moved to my old hometown. No more king, no more soldiers. Just the four of us." Cordelia lifted her head and beamed a smile at her friends. "Guess we were too little too late."

"Cordy…"

* * *

In a few minutes, it would be two hours since he arrived at Ylisstol's gate, if one could still call it a gate. Both the metal doors were gone, ripped apart from its frame on the stone wall. The wall itself was barely standing, with holes too big two carts could go through side by side at the same time. Grima decided to walk through the city, taking in the scenery on his way to his destination.

Ylisstol was ruined, would be an understatement. The dusty ground was dyed a deep dark red, almost black. Weapons and shields and armors of all kinds and sizes scattered about like some forgotten relics from an age long past. The owners, or rather what was left of the owners could be seen if one squinted one's eyes and looked close enough. Most of the houses are gone now, crumbled to the ground, leaving behind bricks and rubbles where they used to be. The castle was surprisingly still intact. The south wing was all but gone, and a massive hole now served as the main entrance, but the main section still standing.

Grima entered the building only to be greeted by his army of risens, and a woman, a  _living_ woman, hair white as snow standing at the center of the hall.

"Welcome back, Lord Grima. We have been waiting for you." The felldragon looked at the smiling woman in front of him. "The throne of Ylisse awaits you." Aversa said, gesturing to another door behind her. Grima just followed the dark flier silently into the room.

The felldragon swiftly gazed around, skimming through the four corners of the hall as soon as he entered. He stopped directly in front of the raised seat in the room. He pointed the palm of his right hand to the stone chair and shot a dark energy, blowing it to dust.

Grima made his way through one of the door and walked to the center garden. He then took a seat on the small stairs fronting the garden. Grima simply gazed at the reddish tint in the sky. He knew what he needed to do after his awakening, but for some reason he wanted to look at the sky today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Like I said in the summary, this story was completed ages ago.   
> In fact, it's the first fic I uploaded, so it might be rough around the edges,   
> but hopefully you guys enjoyed it nonetheless.


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